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23 jftiarrf), 1942
The Hagner Indian Mounds
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Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
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VOLUME 23, NO. 1
1942
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
Page
The Hagner Indian Mounds, Kermit Freckmann 1
A Copper Adze, Charles E. Brown .17
Archeological Notes 19
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
iiJisccmsin arctjeological
, Wisconsin
Incorporated March 23, 1903, ior the purpose of advancing the study
and preservation of Wisconsin antiquities
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. Theo. Koerner
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Cije
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 23 No. 1
MILWAUKEE, WIS., MARCH, 1942
New Series.
THE HAGNER INDIAN MOUNDS
By Kermit Freckmann
INTRODUCTION
At the May meeting of the Wisconsin Archeological Society
the writer was asked to make an accurate survey of a group
of Indian mounds located 011 the Ernst Hagner farm situated
in the W. i/ 2 , S. E. y 4 , N. W. %, of Section 32, Town 12, north
of range 20 East, Farmington township, Washington County,
Wisconsin. This survey seemed desirable since no accurate
record had ever been made of this once large and interesting
group of prehistoric earthworks. The only previous data con-
cerning these tumuli were in the form of a sketch map result-
ing from field investigations made in 1883 by Professor Julius
L. Torney of Milwaukee. This map was made without adequate
surveying equipment resulting in an inaccurate sketch of these
mounds. However, we are extremely indebted to Professor
Torney inasmuch as many of the mounds which he platted at
that period have long since been obliterated through years of
constant cultivation. The old map was of great help to the
writer in guiding him to the remaining earthworks, and es-
pecially in enabling him to find those mounds which were par-
tially or almost entirely destroyed. Although numerous errors
were evident in this sketch map, it must be considered that,
under the circumstances, a fair record was produced showing
the approximate position of each mound relative to the others.
Professor Torney probably employed the old, quick method of
obtaining measurements by pacing.
The writer wishes to thank Dr. Ira Edwards, Director of the
Milwaukee Public Museum, for the loan of equipment necessary
for the conducting of this survey, and Mr. W. C. McKern, Cur-
ator of Anthropology at this museum, for his kind help and
2 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, Xo. 1
guidance in completing this report. Thanks are also due to
Mr. Ernst Hagner, present owner of the best preserved portion
of this group of mounds, for his kind assistance and for in-
formation he gave concerning the mound site ; and to Mr.
Milton C. Leinenberger for permitting a survey of some of the
mounds of the Hagner group which lie on his property.
PROFESSOR JULIUS L. TORNEY'S SKETCH MAP
In his map of the Hagner and Meyer mound group, Profes-
sor Torney illustrates a total of 47 Indian mounds. He also
indicated that a number of the earthworks had been destroyed
prior to the time that he drew his plat in the year 1883. Cross-
es are found in his sketch designating the location of mounds
which formerly existed. This, perhaps, was from information
obtained by him from some of the earlier settlers in that lo-
cality. He shows eleven of these crosses, thus indicating that
the original group probably consisted of at least sixty mounds,
including many of the well known effigy shapes.
In comparing Professor Torney 's map with the final results
obtained in the recent survey, it is interesting to note the diff-
erences in the outlines of the effigy mounds. No doubt Pro-
fessor Torney extended his imagination somewhat in drawing
the outines of the effigy mounds at that time. He seems espec-
ially to have had a tendency to accentuate the " heads" and
"legs" of these earthworks; and also, in some cases, drew
curved tails on panther effigy mounds where straight tapering
tails are present. This may be readily seen by comparing his
map with the one recently made and shown in Plat 1. Those
effigy mounds now remaining in this group are noticeably more
modified in outline, somewhat less in the form of the animals
which he so realistically reproduced.
Nevertheless, in order to produce as complete a record of the
Hagner group of mounds as possible, it was necessary to in-
clude those earthworks recorded by Professor Torney which
are now completely obliterated. The outlines and approximate
positions are indicated in dotted lines in Plat 1. The writer
has attempted to modify the outlines of these tumuli, where-
The Hagner Indian Mounds
ever possible, to conform with those earthworks now remain-
ing'. From time to time during this report references will be
made to the two maps, wherever obvious differences exist.
THE HAGNER MOUND GROUP
This group located on the Ernst Hagner farm four miles
northeast of Barton, Wisconsin, consists of thirty-one Indian
earthworks, of which nearly all are in a very good state of
preservation. Of these thirty-one remaining tumuli, five are
conical mounds, one is oval, eight are linears in addition to
one which is almost entirely destroyed, two are tapering lin-
ears, two are "bird" effigies, seven are panther effigies in
addition to four which are partially destroyed, and one is a
lizard effigy mound of exceptional form. This group is located
on high wooded level land quite a distance north of a swampy
area which perhaps, in an early day, may have been a shallow
lake.
It is an unusually beautiful group of mounds, and one is
especially impressed with the prominent height and careful
construction of each tumulus. The majority of these mounds
rise between 3 and 4 feet above the surrounding level.
THE 1941 SURVEY
On June twenty-fourth, 1941, the writer began his survey of
the Hagner group of mounds. Seven days were required to
complete this survey which was undertaken at various times
during June, July and August of that year. It was, perhaps, a
most inopportune time as operations were exceedingly retarded
by conditions existing in the grove of trees where most of the
mounds are to be found. During the preceeding year many of
the trees had been felled and hauled away, but all of the tops
were left lying on the ground. It was in this condition that the
writer found these woods when he began his survey. In many
instances several tree tops covered a mound, thus making it
very difficult to obtain accurate measurements. This is why
so much time was required in recording these mounds. How-
ever, with a certain amount of patience, and the enthusiasm of
a Lapham, accurate results were finally obtained.
4 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 1
INDIVIDUAL MOUND RECORDING
Space will not permit the recording of all the exact dimen-
sions taken of the mounds to be described here, but an individ-
ual drawing of each mound in exact scale was made and is
deposited at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Also the position
of each mound as related to the others and their relative dis-
tances are graphically represented. Much can be derived per-
taining to these figures by consulting the scale of Plat No. 1.
Linear Mound No. 1.
This linear earthwork is 73.3 feet long, 17 feet wide at its
north end and 20 feet wide at the southern extremity. It is 2.7
feet high at the north and 3.3 feet high at the south end. The
axis of this mound extends N.23 E. The mound lies 107.5 feet
north of the east-and-west fence line (See Plat 1). There are
some animal excavations to mar its surface as well as one
shallow pit near the north end caused by the uprooting of a
tree. There are numerous trees and saplings growing from its
surface.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 2.
This panther earthwork has a body extending S. 72 E.
whereas its tapering tail extends 8.80 E. The overall length,
from the head to the tip of the tail, is 145 feet. The length of
the body is 41 feet. The width of the fore part of this mound
as measured from the extreme edge of the head to the outer
edge of the foreleg is 28.3 feet. The width across the rear
portion of the mound as measured from the hip to the edge of
the rear leg is 23 feet. The fore leg is 13 feet wide, the rear
leg 12 feet wide, and the body 18 feet wide at a point equi-
distant between the legs. The long tapering tail is 13 feet wide
at a point 5 feet from the body and tapers to a width of about
2 feet near the tip. The entire length of the tail is 104 feet.
The head of this effigy is nothing more than just a widen-
ing of the body and is much less prominent than are the two
legs. This mound is 3.8 feet high at the shoulder and 3.1
feet high at the hip. The tail is 1.8 feet high near the body and
diminishes to approximately a few inches in height at the other
extremity. This mound is in a good state of preservation and
has numerous maple trees growing on it.
The Hagner Indian Mounds
The tails of all the effigy mounds in this group range from
1 to 1.5 feet in height at a point equidistant between the body
and the tip of the tail. It may be noted here that all of the
effigy mounds of this group possess straight tapering tails and
are, wherever definable, well rounded at their extreme tips in-
stead of being pointed as Professor Torney's sketch hap shows,
He also represents this mound as possessing a curved tail,
whereas a straight one is evident.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 3.
This mound is similar in outline to Mound No. 2. The legs
and tail being the most prominent appendages. The body
direction is N. 70 E., and the trend of the tail is N. 54 E. The
length of the entire mound is 120 feet of which 27 feet is the
length of the body while the remaining 93 feet is the length of
the tail. This mound is 24 feet across the fore portion of the
head and fore leg and is 20.5 feet across the rear portion which
includes the length of the rear leg. The fore leg is 14 feet wide
and the rear leg is 11.5 feet in width. The tail is 12 feet wide
near the body and tapers to about 2 feet in width at the tip.
The body of this mound is 14.5 feet wide. The height at the
shoulder is 3.1 feet and this elevation is slightly lower at the
hip, being 2.? feet high at that point. The height of the tail is
1.8 feet near the body, and is 1.5 feet at a point half the dis-
tance to its tip. From this point it diminishes in height until it
actually blends with the surrounding surface at the tip of the
tail. It is in an excellent state of preservation and is well cov-
ered with trees.
Conical Mound No. 4.
This conical mound at present is badly mutilated. According
to Mr. Ernst Hagner it had been trenched in about the year
1906 by some one from Chicago, Illinois. The man responsible
for the excavation claimed that he was associated with a mu-
seum there. After having found nothing whatever in the course
of excavation, the mound was left open in its present state.
However, it is the writer's opinion that the floor or base of
this mound was never reached. A more thorough excavation
might reveal interesting features. The present diameter is 35
6 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 1
feet and the original height of this mound was perhaps 5 feet.
There are several large maple trees growing from its surface,
one in particular being 22 inches in diameter and approximate-
ly one hundred years old.
Conical Mound No. 5.
This mound is closely associated with Conical Mound No. 4,
being only 4 feet distant toward the west. It is a large prom-
inent one as it attains a height of 6 feet. The diameter is 36
feet. There is one shallow pit near the center of this mound as
well as one large pit near the southern edge. Both are the re-
sults of earlier excavations. Nothing is known regarding them,
but it is reasonable to believe that nothing was encountered as
both excavations were not thorough enough and barely pene-
etrated the surface of this large tumulus. This mound is also
covered by numerous trees.
Panther Mound No. 6 .
This mound coincides somewhat in outline with mounds No.
2 and No. 3, with the exception that the right side of an animal
is depicted, whereas in 2 and 3 the left side was indicated. The
overall length of this earthwork is 211 feet and the major
direction is S. 55 E. The body and tail have the same axis.
The body is 36 feet long and the length of its long, straight,
tapering tail is 175 feet. The width of the fore part is 26.5 feet,
while at the rear portion of the body it measures 21 feet wide.
The body is 16 feet wide. The two legs are constructed close
to each other. The fore leg is 16 feet wide and the rear leg,
having a width of 12 feet, is only about 6 feet from the fore
leg. The tail is 11 feet wide near its junction with the body and
tapers gradually to about 2 feet in width at the tip. The height
at the shoulder of the mound is 3.3 feet, and at the hip it is 3
feet high. From this point the tail slopes to a height of about
1.5 feet at a point at the center of its entire length. This effigy
is also in good condition, there being one small pit near the
shoulder probably caused by the falling of a tree.
Linear Mound No. 7.
The major direction of this mound is N. 49 E. The length is
92.4 feet. The width at the north end is 18 feet, and at the
The Hagner Indian Mounds
south end 17 feet. The height throughout is 3.8 feet. It is in
very good condition and covered with numerous saplings.
Linear Mound No. 8.
The major direction of this earthwork is N. 43 E. Its entire
length is 74 feet. It has a fairly uniform width of 19 feet. The
height is 3.7 feet. There is a trench across the mound near its
center. It extends the entire width as well as to the base of
the mound. This cut is V-shaped and is approximately 7 feet
across the top. No information could be gathered regarding it.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 9.
This is a beautifully constructed mound of the panther type.
It has an overall length, at present, of 174.5 feet. Approx-
imately 5 or 6 feet of the tip of the tail extended into an ad-
joining field which has for years been under cultivation.
Nothing of this portion of the tail remains. The major direction
of the body is N. 19 W., and of the tail, N. 36 W. The length
of the body is 35.8 feet, and the length of the tail is now 174.5
feet. The width of the fore part of the mound is 30 feet as
measured from the top of the head to the bottom edge of the
fere leg. In this effigy the left side of the animal is represented.
The width across the rear part of the mound including the leg
is 23 feet. This mound has a prominent head that is 9.5 feet
across the top and protrudes straight upwards perpendicular
to the axis of the body. Also a decided ''hump" is noticeable in
the outline representing the hip or rear portion of the mound.
The front leg is 10 feet wide, and the rear leg 13 feet wide.
The body is 16.5 feet in width. The tail is 10.5 feet wide near
where it joins the body and tapers to 3 feet in width at the
fence which marks the edge of the woods and the beginning of
a plowed field. The height at the shoulder of the mound is
3.6 feet, and 2.7 feet at the hip. The tail is 2 feet high near the
body and about 8 inches high at the fence where it terminates.
This effigy is in an exceedingly good state of preservation and
also supports its share of saplings and trees.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 10.
This earthwork is almost identical in pattern to Mound No. 9,
except that the right side of the animal is depicted. A distance
8 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 1
of only 4 feet separates the heads of both effigies and both lie
in almost the same axial plane. The direction of the tail is
N. 35 W., and that of the body is N. 46 W. The entire length
is 214.5 feet. The body represents 46 feet of this length, and
the tail the remaining 164.5 feet. The front of this tumulus is
29.5 feet across, which includes the length of the fore leg and
the head. The rear portion of the mound is 28 feet wide. The
body part is 17 feet in width. The head is 15 feet wide. The
fore leg is 13.5 feet in width, and the rear leg measures 12.8
feet wide. The tail is 12.6 feet wide near the body of the mound
and tapers to 1.5 feet at its tip. The fence extending north
and south, to the west of Hagner's woods, crosses diagonally
over the tail of this mound at a point approximately 15 feet
from the rear leg. The height at the shoulder is 4.2 feet, and
at the hip, 3.1 feet. The tail coincides in height with the tail
of Mound No. 9. The entire body and a small part of the tail
is covered with trees and saplings, while the remaining portion
of the tail is situated in a clearing west of the woods. This
mound is also excellently preserved.
Lizard Effigy Mound No. 11.
This is the most beautiful effigy mound in the group, and is
an excellent example of the prehistoric art of mound construc-
tion. Great care must have been exercised by the aborigines
in forming the large curved legs of this lizard-shaped effigy,
as all four legs are identical in shape.
The major direction of the body of this mound is N. 56 W.,
and the axis of the tail is S. 60 E. The entire length of the
mound is 258.5 feet, of which 65 feet is represented by the body.
Beginning at the fore part of this mound, the effigy is equipped
with a broad head 28 feet wide which protrudes 13.5 feet from
a point designated as "A" located on the axis of the body near
the center of the shoulders. From this point "A" both fore
legs slope 15 off the perpendicular towards the rear of the
body. The same is true of the rear two legs. The right front
leg is 30.5 feet in overall length from point "A" and has an
average width of 13 feet. The front leg is 31 feet in length and
has the same width as the right front Ic.u. If an imaginary
straight line is protracted connecting the two front "paws" of
r
FORMERLY MEYER'S WOODS
UNDER CULTIVATION SINCE (883
ACCORDING TO PROF. J. L TORNFY
-.-
MOUNDS OESTPOYeO
BEFOQE 1683
JENBER6ER FARMLAND
SCACC IN FECT
. J
HAGNER INDIAN MOUNDS
FARMINGTON TOWNSHIP, WASHINGTON COUNTY. WlS.
BT
KCAMIT FRECKMANN
1 941
The Hagfiier Indian Mounds
this effigy, a concavity in the forward contour of each leg will
be noticed, amounting to a depth of 4.5 feet, taken from a point
half way intermediate between the body and the feet, and
perpendicular to the imaginary line. The curves of the legs
were calculated in this manner.
In measuring the two hind legs, a point was taken at about
the center of the hips, designated as point "B". Here the same
leg curvature was noticed, and each leg was found to be 31.5
feet in overall length, giving the effigy a total width of 63 feet.
From point "A" to point "B" was found to be 43.5 feet, The
width of the body intermediate between these two points was
found to be 16.5 feet. The tail of the effigy is 12.5 feet wide
near the body and tapers to 2 feet in width at the tip. The
north-and-south fence line crosses the tail 103.5 feet from
point "B". All of the main portion of the effigy is located
in a clearing, while 98 feet of the tail from the tip lies in
Hagner's woods.
The height at the shoulder, at point "A'', is 4.3 feet, and at
the hip, at point "B", 3 feet. The tail is 2.3 feet high near the
body and is 1 foot-high near the fence, from which point it
gradually diminishes to a few inches near the tip.
This "Lizard" mound is in a good state of preservation
having only a slight depression near the head caused by a
falling tree, and a slight displacement of soil at the left rear
leg caused by a plow at some earlier date. All of this land
west of Hagner's woods was formerly known as the Meyer's
woods. Most of it is now under cultivation, and owned by
Milton C. Leinenberger who resides nearby. The presence of
the surviving mounds on his property, including this fine
"Lizard" effigy, makes it doubtful whether the permanent
preservation of these tumuli can be assured.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 12.
The major axis of the body of this earthwork is directed due
west, and the trend of its short stubby tail is S. 62 E. The
overall length is 67.5 feet. The body is 38.5 feet long, and the
tail is only 29 feet in length. It is 22.5 feet across the front
10 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 1
part of this mound, which includes a slight projection repre-
senting the head, and a rather broad front leg which is 17 feet
wide. The right side of the animal is represented. The rear
portion of the body, including the length of the rear leg, is
19.5 feet in width. The rear leg is 10 feet wide. The tail tapers
very little, being 9.5 feet wide near the body, and 9 feet wide
near the tip which is well rounded. The height at the shoul-
der of the mound is 2.5 feet, and at the hip, 2.2 feet. The north-
and-south fence crosses over the head and fore peg of this
mound, and some disturbance of the earth is noticed here.
Professor Torney shows a much longer tail on his effigy, but
as far as the writer could discern there is no evidence of any
earth having been removed.
Linear Mound No. 13.
This is a well defined earthwork measuring 56.5 feet in
length with the major axis extending N. 55 W. It is 17.5 feet
wide throughout, and stands 3.5 feet high. It is in a good state
of preservation and has some trees growing from its surface.
Linear Mound No. 14.
This mound is diagonally crossed by the north-aml-south
fence. It is 66 feet long by 21 feet wide, and lies with the major
axis extending N. 23 E. It is a very well constructed earth-
work and has a rather imposing appearance, being 3.8 feet in
height. It is in excellent condition and has some saplings
growing on it.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 15.
All that remains of this mound is 60 feet of a tapering tail ;
the rest being under cultivation. The major direction of this
tail is N. 83 W. Professor Torney illustrates this as a panther
effigy showing its left side. He gives an overall length of 115
feet. It is situated on the Leinenberger property.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 16.
This is a rather odd mound because the tail of the animal
connects with, or is part of a linear mound to the east. Although
the two join, each will be treated as separate earthwork in this
The Hagner Indian Mounds 11
report. The length of this mound is 215.5 feet, of which 40 feet
is the body. The major axis of the body is directed N. 71 W.,
and the tail extends N. 60 W. The front of the effigy is 30
feet in width, including a well rounded head 17 feet in width
and a short fore leg 15 feet in width. The rear part of the
mound is 23 feet wide, including a short rear leg 12.5 feet in
width. The tail tapers from 13 feet in width at the body to
9 feet in width at its junction with Linear Mound No. 18. It is
3.2 feet high at the shoulder and 2.5 feet high at the hip. The
tail averages approximately 1.5 feet in height. The north-and-
south fence crosses the tail 125.5 feet from the head. The
mound is devoid of trees and is in a fair state of preservation.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 17.
Eight feet to the west of Mound No. 16 is all that remains
of another mound. This remnant is 37 feet long and has a
major axis directed N. 57 W. This was once part of a pair of
such mounds, each 200 feet in length, according to Professor
Torney (see Plat No. 1).
Linear Mound No. 18.
This mound is connected with Mound No. 16 and extends
N. 65 W. It is 47 feet in length and 21.5 feet wide. It stands
4 feet high and is in good condition.
Oval Mound No. 19.
This oval earthwork is 26 by 15 feet in cross diameter and is
rather low, being only 1.3 feet in height. It was overlooked
in Professor Torney 's sketch map. It is closely associated with
the preceeding linear mound.
Linear Mound No. 20.
The major axis of this mound is directed N. 24 E. It is 78
feet long by 19 feet wide and is 3.8 feet high at the north end
and 3.5 feet high at the south end. This mound is bi-sected by
a six-foot trench 26 feet north of its southern extremity. No
information was obtained regarding the trench.
12 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, Xo. 1
Linear Mound No. 21.
The major axis of this mound extends N. 52 E. It is 71 feet
long by 18 feet wide and is almost 4 feet high. It is in good
condition and has numerous saplings and trees growing from
it.
Bird Effigy Mound No. 22.
This interesting bird (?) mound was formerly about 150
feet in length and is locally known as the "cross''. About 30
or 40 feet of the mound has been obliterated through cultiva-
tion. It has a short head 17 feet in length, measured from a
point directly in the center of the body where it is crossed by
the major axis of the wings. This head is 15 feet wide and lies
on the same axis as the tail which extends N. 49 W. The re-
mains of the tail, measured from the central body point to lln-
north-and-south fence line where it ends, is 98 feet long. The
tail is 15 feet wide near the body and tapers to 10 feet in width
at the fence. This tail is 3 feet high near its connection with
the body. The left wing extends N. 41 E. and is 19 feet wid<
near the body and 15 feet wide near its tip. It is about 2 feet
high. The right wing is 73 feet long, 19 feet wide near the
body, and 14.5 feet wide near its tip. The major axis of this
wing extends N. 39 E. It is also about 2 feet high. The height
of the mound at the point marking the center of the body is
3.8 feet. There is really not much of a so-called body to this
mound as the base of each appendage is gradually rounded out
to join the adjacent one. This mound is in a good state of
preservation. It is unique in construction and compares favor-
ably with the "Cross" at Merton, Wis., platted by Dr. Increase
A. Lapham.
Bird Effigy Mound No. 23.
This mound has somewhat the same pattern as Mound No. 22,
although it is quite a bit larger. The entire length of this
mound is 308 feet and it has a major axis extending N. 80 W.
It has a short round head measuring 20 feet in length from the
center of the wings, and 20 feet in width. There is a definite
body to this mound which is about 45 feet long by 20 feet wide.
The body gradually narrows into the tail which averages about
The Hagner Indian Mounds 13
10.5 feet wide for the first 100 feet from the body, after which
it gradually tapers to about 2 feet in width near the tip. The
tail averages 1.3 feet in height. The right wing of this effigy
is 98 feet long, 15.5 feet wide near the body, and 15 feet wide
near the tip. It is 1.5 feet in height, and it extends N. 12 E.
The left wing is 15.5 feet wide near the body, 14 feet wide near
the tip, 114 feet in length, and about the same height as the
right wing. The greatest height of this effigy is 4 feet taken
at the junction of the appendages. It is in good condition and
is heavily wooded.
Tapering Linear Mound No. 24,
This tapering earthwork has a major axis extending N. 62 E.
It is 15 feet wide at the southern end and tapers to 2.5 feet at
the north end. It is 88 feet in length and its greatest height is
2.5 feet. It is in a good state of preservation, and supports
numerous saplings.
Conical Mound No. 25.
This is a small, low conical mound evidently overlooked by
Professor Torney. It is 14 feet in diameter and is 1.5 feet high.
Conical Mound No. 26.
This mound is 20 feet in diameter and is 2 feet high. Like
Mound No. 25 it is not mentioned by Professor Torney. It is
in good condition.
Tapering Linear Mound No. 27.
This earthwork has a major axis directed N. 64 W. Its en-
tire length is 190 feet, It tapers slightly from a width of 18
feet at the west end to one of 13 feet near its east end. The
greatest height is 3.5 feet taken at the west end, and the mound
is 1.8 feet in height at a point midway between ends. There
is a large pit at the west end evidently the result of some early
excavation. Nothing is known relative to this excavation.
Linear Mound No. 28.
Professor Torney lists this mound as being 60 feet in length.
It is now completely destroyed; however, its former position
can be easily located.
14 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 1
Conical Mound No. 29.
This mound is 21 feet in diameter and is approximately 2
feet high. There are numerous large stones on its surface ;
however, Mr. Ernst Hagner believes the stones were placed
there by his grandfather during the process of boiling maple
sap. This mound is not indicated in Professor Torney's survey.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 30.
All that remains of this effigy is 150 feet of its tapering tail,
w r hich is 12.5 feet wide at the widest part and 2 feet high at
this same point. The original body of the mound was about
54 feet in length. The earth had been removed from this portion
of the mound by Mr. Ernst Hagner 's father for the purpose of
"filling in" around a barn. During the course of removal the
upper half of a skeleton was unearthed. No other information
concerning this discovery could be obtained, as Mr. Hagner
had only a faint recollection of this incident which occured in
about 1900. The major axis of this mutilated effigy extends
N. 52 E.
Panther Effigy Mound No. 31.
This earthwork is in the same condition as the proceeding
effigy, the ground having been removed from the body. The
tail is still intact and is 114 feet in length. The direction of the
tail is N. 51 E. The length of the former body of the mound
was approximately 43 feet.
MOUNDS NOW OBLITERATED
There is harly any remaining trace of any of a considerable
number of the tumuli, and it is necessary to rely almost en-
tirely upon Professor Torney's sketch map to represent their
shapes, sizes and relative positions. However, just west of " Lix-
ard'' Effigy Mound No. 11 of the Hagner group may be seen a
slight rise in the elevation of the field indicating the remains
of a former panther effigy mound which Professor Torney
describes as being 155 feet in length. Here five well defined
circular areas each about two feet in diameter and consisting
of burnt earth, were noticed by the writer. These areas, perhaps,
The Hagner Indian Mounds 15
were near the base of this former panther mound. It is re-
gretable that these earthworks are now gone, as some very
interesting ones originally existed there. Among them was a
long, tapering, club-shaped linear that Professor Torney de-
scribes as being 500 feet in length this making it the longest
mound of the entire group.
SUMMARY
We now have a fairly accurate record of forty -nine mounds.
This total, representing those mounds remaining at the time
of Professor Torney 's field explorations, excludes eleven tumuli
that he indicates as having been destroyed prior to 1883, of
which there is no record. Of these forty-nine mounds almost
half were effigy in form, thus indicating that this particular
area must have been one of great religious or ceremonial sig-
nifiance to the aborigines as well as a burial ground. Following
are the types of mounds represented in the group, and the num-
ber of each : twenty panther effigies, two bird effigies, one lizard
effigy, six conicals, one oval, fifteen linears, two tapering
linears, two tapering club-shaped linears, and eleven unknown
forms of which there apparently is no record.
A few stone and copper artifacts have been recovered in
this immediate locality in past years. However, no concentra-
tion of artifacts has been found in any particular area near
here, thus indication the absence of any important, permanent
< camp or village site. During a course of years Mr. Ernst
Hagner has recovered from the fields on his farm : three stone
celts of common design, one stone adze, one turkey-tailed
.copper spearpoint, and approximately fifty arrowheads.
CONCLUSION
The writer wishes to impress upon the local townspeople, as
well as the general public, the urgent need for the permanent
preservation of this interesting group of Indian mounds No-
where, within the same radius of the city of Milwaukee, can
there be found such a well preserved group of diversified types
of effigy mounds. The permanent preservation and restoration
of earthworks should be considered and acted upon by the
16 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 1
local people, as well as all organizations interested in further-
ing scientific and educational studies within our state, and
this effort should be comparable to what is being done in the
restoration program at Aztalan Mound Park by the local
people and historical societies. The Hagner group of mounds is
full} r as important a monument to prehistoric Indian culture.
A Copper Adze 17
A COPPER ADZE
Charles E. Brown
A recent addition to the Henry P. Hamilton collection of
native copper implements, ornaments and ceremonial forms
is an adze. This fine implement is triangular in outline and is
7% inches in length. Its width at its cutting edge is 1% inches
and at its poll -}f of an inch. The poll is roundly pointed. The
upper surface of this adze (seen from the side) is slightly
curved from the cutting edge to the end of the poll. The flat
lower surface is slightly concave from near the cutting edge
(bitt) to beyond the middle, a distance of 5% inches. At a
distance of 2 inches from the cutting edge this implement is
Y-2 inch thick and near its poll % inch thick. Its weight is one
pound.
This adze is a beautiful implement, its upper surface, of a
greenish-brown color, due to untold years of burial in the soil.
Its lower surface is of a blackish color. Perhaps its greatest
interest lies in a number of silver areas on the upper surface
of the blade. All of these are near the right edge. The largest,
about 2^4 inches from the end of the poll, irregular in form, is
about \y inches long; its greatest width being about l /\. inch.
About l /\. inch below it is another small silver area, irregular in
form and about % inch long. A third very irregular silver
area is just below it. This one is about 2 inches long and about
Y^ inch in width at its widest part. Below this a small silver
stud at the cutting edge of the blade.
As may be imagined these silver areas add very much to the
beauty of the greenish-brown upper surface of this implement.
In the course of many years of studying Wisconsin native cop-
per implements the writer has never seen a large specimen that
showed so much silver. In fact copper implements showing
silver are rare in both public and private collections. George
A. West in his monograph, "Copper : Its Mining ?nd Use by the
Aborigines of the Lake Superior Region,"* mentions a native
silver arrowpoint formerly in the S. D. Mitchell collection and
* Milwaukee Public Museum Bulletin, V. 10, No. 1, 1929.
18 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, Xo. 1
found in Green Lake County. A tiny silver knife was also in a
Wisconsin collection. A very few other coppers have silver
studs.
These copper adzes were no doubt very useful implements.
Mounted in a wooden handle the}' could be employed in exca-
vating dugout canoes and wooden vessels and in other wood-
working undertakings of the prehistoric Indian. Mr. West
devotes a chapter to them and describes a tV\v specimens.
The large Hamilton collection of copper implements came
into the possession of the Wisconsin State Historical Museum,
at Madison, in 1919, through the gift of its owner, Henry P.
Hamilton of Two Rivers. Mr. Hamilton was a charter
member and an officer of The Wisconsin Archeological Society.
The interesting adze described in this article was found in
Washington County and is the gift to the collection of his son
Mr. Edward P. Hamilton.
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
Mr. Robert Ritzenthaler of the Staff of the Milwaukee Public Mu-
seum and a member of the society spoke at both the December 15, 1941,
and the January 19, 1942, meetings of the society. During the past
summer he was a member of a group sponsored by Columbia Univer-
sity and the Milwaukee Public Museum, which spent considerable time
studying the Chippewa Indians at their various reservations in north-
ern Wisconsin. He talked about his experience with the Chippewas
at the December meeting, and of his recent trip to Mexico at the
January meeting. Both lectures were amply illustrated.
Mr. Walter Ripley, of St. Francis, Wis., was elected an annual
member.
Vice President C. E. Brown and Walter Bubbert have been watch-
ing over the Kingsley Bend Mounds and those at Merrimac, Wiscon-
sin. The former will be affected by a highwaay project and the latter
are near the site of the new Badger Ordnance site at Merrimac.
The advisory board 6f the society has given them its full support in
this matter.
Your secretary has at last, it is hoped, satisfied postal authorities
concerning the transfer of the mailing of the Archeologist from Mad-
ison to Milwaukee. You will note we are now entered under the Act
of August 21, 1912. The department objected to the inclusion of ads
of any sort in the publication.
2
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
1874 N. 40th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
23
, 1942
. 2
Oshkosh Public Museum Issue
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.50 PER YEAR
Entered as 2d class matter at the P.O. at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
January 28, 1921, under the Act of August 21, 1912.
Cf)e Wisconsin &rrfjeologtst
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
1874 N. 40th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
VOLUME 23, NO. 2
1942
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
Page
The Oshkosh Public Museum, Nile J. Behncke 19
Indian Bone Implements in the Oshkosh Public Museum,
Ralph N. Buckstaff 25
Indian Shell Work, Oshkosh Public Museum, Ralph N. Buckstaff __28
An Unusual Ceremonial Stone, A. P. Kannenberg 30
Lasley Point Mound Cruising, Harold R. Bullock 32
Lasley Point Mound Excavations, Harold R. Bullock 37
The "Cairn" at Lasley's Point, Hiram Eldon Mansfield 45
Archeological Notes 48
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
&Ui scans in 3rclKalagical acirn;
. (Ltliscansin
Incorporated March 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study
and preservation of Wisconsin antiquities
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Chas. E. Brown
VICE PRESIDENTS
A. P. Kannenberg Dr. A. K. Fisher W. K. Andrews
Louis Pierron Kermit Freckman
DIRECTORS
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
W. C. McKern
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Dr. W. H. Brown
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
Ei win G. Burg
Walter Bubbert
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
W. E. Erdman
John G. Gregory
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
Zida C. Ivey
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
Dr. A. L. Kastner
Dr. Louise P. Kellogg
B. W. Knoblock
J. J. Knudsen
A. E. Koerner
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
T. S. Miller
Robert Ritzenthaler
C. G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
J. P. Schumacher
V. S. Taylor
Vetal Winn
G. R. Zilisch
TREASURER
G. M. Thorne
917 N. Forty-ninth Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR
Robert B. Hartman
1874 N. Fortieth Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Robert Ritzenthaler G. M. Thorne
COMMITTEES
REGULAR
STATE SURVEY W. C. McKern, Robert Ritzenthaler, A. P. Kan-
nenberg, Kermit Freckman, Robert R. Jones, J. P. Schumacher,
Vetal Winn, Wm. K. Andrew, Frank M. Neu, J. P. Barr, Dr.
Philleo Nash, Virginia Drew, M. F. Hulbert, W. E. Erdman, Dr.
P. H. Nesbitt
MOUND PRESERVATION Walter Bubbert, H. 0. Zander, C. A.
Koubeck, O. L. Hollister, Louis Pierron, A. C. Fiedler, Mrs. W. J.
Devine, T. L. Miller, Arthur W. Quan, R. S. Zigman, Louis N.
Skavlem, Mary M. Vandenberg, H. R. Bullock, V. G. Jackson.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Nile C. Behncke, Dr. Ira Edwards, Dr.
Elmer Nelson, Frederic Heath, Marie C. Kohler, Marvel Ings,
G. C. Stowe, Zida C. Ivey, Dr. F. S. Dayton, R. N. Buckstaff, Mark
H. Knight, N. W. Roeder, Alonzo Pond, Jens Jacobsen.
MEMBERSHIP G. M. Thome, ,Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Dr. A. L. Kastner,
Mrs. Theodore Koerner, Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, Dr. L. S.
Buttles, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich, M. G. Schmidt, J. K.
Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS Walter Bubbert, C. L. Harr-
ington, W. E. Scott, Victor S. Taylor, Walter Holsten, Mrs. Robert
E. Friend.
PUBLICITY Mrs Wm. K. Andrew, R. B. Hartman, H. J. Kent,
Mrs. A. E. Koerner, A. O. Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlan, Dorothy
M. Brown.
SPECIAL
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Robert Ritzenthaler, C. G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell.
PUBLICATIONS Robert B. Hartman, A. E. Koerner, Dr. H. W.
Kuhm, G. M. Thome, R. S. Van Handel.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Walter Bubbert, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Jean Bara.
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A.
Barrett, C. G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Endowment Members, $500 00
Sustaining Members, $5.00 Annual Members, $2.00
Institutional Members, $1.50 Junior Members, $ .50
All communications in regard to The Wisconsin Archeological Society should
he addressed to Robert B. Hartman, 1874 N. 40th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be addressed to him. Dues
should be sent to G. M. Thome, Treasurer, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin 3rct)eologist
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 23 No. 2
MILWAUKEE, WIS-, JUNE, 1942
New Series.
THE OSHKOSH PUBLIC MUSEUM
By Nile J. Behncke
Director
THE HISTORY
Since the year 1836 the city of Oshkosh has brought forward
a simple life story of growth and change. Its early history of
Indians and pioneers, its exciting action of river logging days
and of river transportation, its terrible fear of fires in the
saw mills, its sad moments of wars and its dull panic and de-
pression days have all contributed to this story. Into this color-
ful, active river town with its predominance of lumbering
industries has come a wealth of historic museum materials.
The actual objects and their histories from the fifties, sixties
and down to the present day have been collected, classified,
carefully preserved and displayed by the Oshkosh Public Mu-
seum.
THE BUILDING
The museum moved from the Public Library to its present
location in 1924. The building, a gift to the city from the late
Edgar P. Sawyer, is an interesting monument of the lumber-
ing interests in Oshkosh. The interior woods of white and red
mahogany, chestnut, oak and birch are carefully selected ex-
amples of woods, hand finished and carved to show their
natural beauty. On the stairway, the colored leaded glass
windows by Tiffiney, illuminated by late afternoon sunlight,
contribute to the artistic mood of the interior and are truly art
treasures in their own right.
EXHIBITING
With the widespread changing of the purposes and aims of
a museum have come radical changes in the methods of exhib-
20 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
iting collections. The museum is no longer a mere storehouse ;
it must interpret its collections. Its exhibits must, as far as
possible, tell a story of development, show a chronological se-
quence. Examples of these continuity exhibitions in our own
museum are the "History of Lighting", from the fagot to the
fluorescent light; "Flat Irons", from those of colonial times
to the electric iron; "Indian tools and weapons' 1 , from stone
to metal.
The use of natural and artificial lighting are important consi-
derations in arranging displays. Cases designed to let the sun-
light pass through glassware and bring out its sparkling clear-
ness and brilliant color are used in the ceramic room. These
colorful exhibits attract the attention and interest of even the
casual observer. Especially interesting to collectors mid stu-
dents of glass, the Oshkosh museum shows examples of over
four hundred and fifty glass patterns, certainly the largest
public collection of glass patterns in the state.
Color in backgrounds of cases often helps to interpret the
mood of the exhibition and a change of color from room to
room is stimulating to the visitor. The psychological and
physiological effects of color upon individuals are little under-
stood at present but we do know that color acts ds an intox-
icant, excites action and relieves monotony. Color is being
used to create feeling and to add life and variety to the exhib-
itions.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
First from the standpoint of time are the Indian materials,
and Oshkosh is justly proud of its very fine Indian collections.
Actual objects, dioramas, photographs and paintings all con-
tribute to tell a rather complete story of the life of the Indian
in the locality. His shelter, clothing, food, religion, protection,
travel, burial, and ceremonials, as pictured in our collections,
give evidence of the materials available to the Wisconsin In-
dian and their adaptation and use in his life. The archeologic-
al exhibitions show the materials used and the craftsmanship
in stone, copper, bone, shell, clay, wood, skin, shrubs and
grasses.
The Oshkosh Public Museum 21
The settlement of the Fox River valley is old, as compared to
the age of America, for the white man came to this valley
fourteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims in Plymouth.
The pioneer brought with him or made simple furnishings
and necessary utensils for his modest log cabin. The arts and
crafts of this "Early American" period were unpretentious,
substantial and of great intrinsic beauty. They reflect the
social conditions under which our forefathers lived. No wonder
that for young and old alike the pioneer room in the museum is
perhaps the most popular.
Its fireplace of field stone with its low flickering fire shows
the focal center of the life of the home. It not only served to
heat the house, but also was used for light and for all cooking
purposes. The swinging crane with its kettle and the turning
spit were a necessary part of the equipment. A whole art in
itself was developed in fireplace accessories. Fire-dogs, irons,
tools, foot-warmers, bed-warmers, kettle stands, hearth brooms,
bellows, toasters, and other useful objects were invented.
When wealth increased, these home-made arts were supple-
mented or replaced by more costly imported, but frequently
less artistic, objects; dolls, toys, lamps, furniture, tools, clocks,
clothing and vehicles from this period are shown. With more
leisure, needlework of the Victorial Period developed to great
perfection. The museum has a representative collection of
needlework, some of which has been photographed and ased in
national publications.
This community has played its part in the wars and struggles
for freedom and rights. Its story would not be complete with-
out devoting some space to war history. All of the wars, from
the Revolutionary War to the First World War, are repre-
sented by war materials of some sort, by uniforms, guns, and
equipment.
A few objects from Fort Winnebago are particularly impor-
tant to this section.
22 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23. No :>
NATURAL HISTORY
For those who wish to know more of the plant and animal
life of Winnebago county and of the state, the actual objects
are better for study purposes than photographs and books. At
the museum birds and animals of the locality can be seen at
close range. The student of ornithology may see the birds of
the vicinity, their nests and eggs. Passenger pigeons are among
the rare specimens to be found in the bird section. An exhibit
of special significance for the lumbering industries is one of
trees of this locality, showing their bark, leaves and buds, and
explaining how the various woods are used commercially.
There are also collections of fish, fossils, rocks, and a very fine
astronomical exhibit in the natural history department.
PAINTINGS
In the permanent art section there are many fine original
paintings which the museum has acquired by gift or bequest.
These are by recognized artists such as Eugene Savage, George
Inness, Martin Baer, Bruce Crane, Frederick Waugh, .John
Stacy, George Traver, Sara Hess, Rudolph Engerle, Frederick
Tellander, Ada Shulz, Benjamin Eggleston, Harry Waltman,
Karlton Wiggins, Nicholas Brewer, Merton Gruenhagen and
others.
Two galleries are used for the monthly traveling exhibitions
of paintings, etchings or woodblocks. Crafts, hobby shows,
stamp collections, and local or national photography are shown
frequently.
LIBRARY
Another established feature of the museum is the Reference
Library, specializing in historical books and materials relating
to the state and especially to the vicinity. Research workers
have been sent out to gather the history of the city from old
pioneer settlers. They have written over four hundred articles
on the early history of the Fox River valley. Newspaper clip-
pings have been classified and filed. These books and records
are all available to students as reference reading. The museum
The Oshkosh Public Museum 23
staff is deeply grateful that the reference library is so widely
used by local students and citizens, and by out of state re-
search workers.
VISITORS
The museum serves thousands of Oshkosh non-resident vis-
itors each year. The guest book shows that an average of
fifteen persons from out of the city register each day. Trave-
lers have come from almost every state in the union and many
foreign countries have been represented.
Clubs and student groups come from nearby cities, such as
Stevens Point, Appleton, Berlin, Ripon, Milwaukee, Waupaca,
and smaller communities.
Many citizens of Oshkosh visit the museum regularly. The
nearby schools, the high school and State Teachers College use
the museum most, but in a city of 40,000 the museum is fairly
accessible to all schools and the city bus lines have made it a
practice to bring school classes to the museum free of charge
during the slack traffic hours.
EDUCATIONAL WORK
The main objectives of the Oshkosh Museum are to assemble
all available materials, to organize and classify these materials
so they will best serve to impart knowledge and develop appre-
ciation. Most museum instruction is based on the material
object the original work of nature or man. It aims primarily
to develop appreciation along the best possible lines for stand-
ards of good taste through talks, tours, illustrated lectures,
discussions on current exhibitions, and demonstrations of tech-
niques.
Last year 173 talks and demonstrations were given to pupils
and students of the schools in or near Oshkosh. Gallery tours
were conducted for clubs and study groups. Many organiza-
tions, such as the Horticultural Society, Museum Auxiliary,
Historical Society, Conservation Society, School and Church
Societies, Camera Club, Boy Scouts, and Camp Fire Girls, are
24 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
closely associated with the museum and hold their meetings in
the lecture room. The lecture room is free and is available to
all non-political groups.
CONCLUSION
The museum has become an educational institution with
increased responsibilities and enlarged opportunities for serv-
ice. Nowhere else can the lessons the past has to teach be
taught so readily as they can at the museum. It can, by dis-
plays, talks, pictures, and visual aids, materially assist in
educational work. Properly arranged, the museum's exhibits
explain and describe facts of life and history so that they be-
come understandable and vital. The museum must maintain a
diversified program to meet the wide variety of needs of the
children and adults of our community. And today with our
country at war, it is necessary to plan programs for building
morale and national enthusiasm. Plans are under considera-
tion to provide for additional gallery tours, illustrated lectures
and to feature special exhibitions. Last Sunday afternoon
there were over four hundred visitors to tour the Museum and
to see the original Walt Disney drawings. This indicates that
more and more the people are turning to the museum as a
place where they can renew their enjoyment and their trust in
nature, in social progress and in the dempcratic way of life.
Indian Bone Implements, Oshkosh Public Museum 25
INDIAN BONE IMPLEMENTS IN THE OSHKOSH
PUBLIC MUSEUM
By Ralph N. Buckstaff
Curator of Natural History, Oshkosh Public Museum
The Indian bone artifacts in the Oshkosh Public Museum con-
sists of 400 specimens. These were collected at Lasley's Point,
the Karow farm, Butte des Morts, and on the McCauley prop-
erty, all in Winnebago County. A small collection also came
from Keshena Reservation in Shawano County, and the Mitch-
ell Collection which consists of upwards of a hundred pieces.
Each group will be taken separately and its various pieces
listed and briefly described.
THE LASLEY POINT COLLECTION
The Lasley Point material is by far the most important in
both number and variety of specimens. These were collected
over a period of four years, 1936-1940, by A. P. Kannenberg,
Curator of Archeology, and assisted by Harold Bullock, Jerry
Stowe and others.
The rarest pieces are bone needles with eyes at one end.
There are eight of these, all are more or less broken.
The daggers number thirty-six and were made from different
leg bones of probably deer. These artifacts vary somewhat in
shape and size. Some are flat, others are round, all quite
pointed.
One hundred and one bone beads of different sizes and
length were excavated.
There are eighteen fragments of bones. These look like tally
marks. There are thirteen notches on some, while others have
less. Some are cut with diagonal notches, and others with
straight notches.
A cache of six large wide bones, one from a buffalo, and the
rest from moose, were found. These have square holes cut in
the thinner part of the bone.
26 . WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
Fourteen arrow heads made from antler prongs were ex-
cavated.
Among these artifacts are fine pieces of thin bone, cut square,
round and oblong.
A small flat, oblong piece of ftone with V shaped notches on
both sides, which is probably part of a musical instrument was
dug from mound number three.
On an altar made of stones was found a human skull with
the upper portion cut away. Around this were four other frag-
ments also from a skull.
There are also twenty-four bone chisels, three awls, eight
counters, and the toe of a bear with a 1/4" hole drilled through
it.
THE KAROW CACHE
This cache was found on the Karow Farm, north of Oshkosh.
It contains two broken harpoons, with two barbs on one side.
Two double barbed harpoons, and one single barbed, a net
needle, two shuttles, one pointed at each end, the other pointed
at one end only. Ten game counters rounded and flat, 1%"
long and varying in width.
THE KESHENA COLLECTION
This material came from the Keshnea Indian Reservation.
It contains three sets of Squaw Dice, each consisting of. eight
pieces. One set has seven disc-like pieces and one in the shape
of an eagle. A second set has six disc-like pieces and two
turtles. The third set has six disc-like pieces, a turtle, and a
half moon.
THE BUTTE DES MORTS COLLECTION
The artifacts in this collection were excavated at the village
of Butte des Morts. The most important pieces are a small
spoon made from an antler prong, and a long dagger shaped
needle. The dimensions of the spoon are 3^" long, ^y' wide,
Indian Bone Implements, Oshkosh Public Museum 27
and the bowl is *4" deep. The dagger is 1054" long, the handle
of which is 2Vs" long, and T y wide. The other pieces are one
arrow shaft smoother, one flaker, fine antler point arrow heads,
three awls, one sharpened at both ends.
THE MITCHELL COLLECTION
The material gathered from Green Lake and other surround-
ing Counties by the late S. D. Mitchell consists of the follow-
ing : three harpoons, thirty-six daggers, fifty-seven narrow
bone awls varying in length, some pointed at both ends, and
twenty-five perforated bears teeth used for a necklace.
SPECIMEN FROM THE McCAULEY PROPERTY
During the excavation on the McCauley property in the city
of Oshkosh, there was uncovered a bone artifact which was
worked into a flute. This instrument is 6%" long and y 2 " in
diameter. A triangular hole -f$" wide and T y long is cut in
the side. At one end are two parallel lines about %" apart
encircling the flute. The space between, being hatcht with two
sets of diagonal lines crossing each other.
There are also a great many broken bone chisels and other
artifacts. A study of these collections will throw a great deal
of light on the cultural life of the Indians of this region. The
credit for the collection of the Wimiebago County material
belongs to Mr. Arthur Kannenberg, Curator of Archeology at
the Oshkosh Public Museum.
28 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
INDIAN SHELL WORK IN THE OSHKOSH
MUSEUM
By Ralph N. Buckstaff
The Indian shell artifacts in the Oshkosh Public Museum
consists of material collected principaly at Lasley Point and
a few other places in Winnebago County by Arthur Kannen-
berg. Some very fine specimens are in the Brugger Collection.
The Mitchell Collection contains twenty-five fragments from
the Fulgur species of shells.
THE LASLEY POINT MATERIAL
The shell artifacts from Lasley Point present the great, r
variety of shape. The largest number are disc-like and ma}' be
divided as follows:
1. Round or nearly so. 126 specimens, sizes range from
y 2 " in diameter to 1 T 7 ^ inches.
2. Oblong 12 specimens. Their sizes range from
l#"xH" to Wxl# inch.
3. Round discs with perforations 3 specimens whose
sizes are %" across, y s " perforation, {" with a 3/32"
perforation.
These artifacts were made from the shells found in this
locality namely : postula percerna and elliptis dilatatus de-
licaatus.
Another group consists of fragments which were shaped in
different ways and consists of:
1. Shell with long straight cutting edge.
2. Shells with handle like projections; five specimens
comprise this group.
3. Fragments with angular cuts; one is triangular
This series, like the former, were made from the shells of
the fresh water clams, quadrula costata, elliptis dilatatus
delicaatus and truncilla truncata all found in the locality.
Perhaps the most important specimens from Lasley Point
were the serrated or notched shells, seventy-eight of which
Indian Shell Work in the Oshkosh Public Museum 29
were described in a previous paper, * three nearly perfect speci-
mens and fourteen fragments were found during 1941.
SHELLS CUT TO REPRESENT FISH
The collection contains a number of shells cut to represent
fish that came from different parts of the country. There are
two perfect specimens and five imperfect ones. All of the
artifacts are perforated with two small holes indicating these
ornaments were suspended. A detailed description of these
fish will be the subject of a future paper.
THE BRUGGER COLLECTION
The material in this collection has been described to some
extent in C. E. Brown's article "The Occurrence of Marine
Shells on Indian Sites in Wisconsin." **
There are seven specimens, two of them made from nearly
complete shells and form deep dishes. The other artifacts are
made from portions of the shells. One of them which was
probably a spoon is quite elaborately carved with a scroll pat-
tern on the concave side. Another specimen is made from the
Columella portion of a univalve and no doubt was used as a
pendant. Fulgur species of shells were used in the making of
these.
THE MITCHELL COLLECTION
The shell ornaments in this collection consists mostly of the
worked fragments of the Columella portion of univalve shells,
both upper and lower parts being used. All the specimens show
considerable weathering as all edges are rounded ar>d the
coloring is a uniform greyish. They were found in a spring at
Poygan.
This is a brief summary of the Indian shell material and
numbers 282 specimens. All pieces, except those in the Mitchell
Collection, are in a fairly good state of preservation and show
very little wear.
* Ralph X. Buckstaff Serrated Shells of the Winneibago Wisconsin Arch-
eologist. New Series Vol. XX, No. 2.
** Charles E. Brown The Occurrence of Marine Shells on Indian Sites
in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Archeologist. Old Series Vol. 12, No. 2, P. 53.
30 WISCONSIN ABCHEOLOGIST Vol. 28, No 2
AN UNUSUAL CEREMONIAL STONE
By A. P. Kannenberg,
Curator of Archeology, Oshkosh Public Museum
On July 9, 1941, workmen on a WPA project were stripping
sod on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Hospital at Win-
nebago, Winnebago County, Wisconsin.
These grounds border on the west shore of Lake Winnebago
five miles north of the City of Oshkosh, and form what is now
called Asylum Point. The famous village site of Chief Wild
Cat or Pesheu, was located here. It was also the home of that
famous Winnebago Indian Queen named "Glory of the Morn-
ing", grandmother of the line of Chiefs named Decorahs, sev-
eral of whose descendants are still living in Wisconsin.
One of the men, while sifting the top black soil, noticed a
peculiar round stone which rolled from the seive. He picked
up the object, cleaned it on his overalls and found some curious
looking marks on its surface. It was shown to the foreman on
the job, Mr. Robert Webster, who immediately recognized the
stone as a fine Indian relic. Not showing too much enthusiasm
he kept it saying he would give it to the Oshkosh Public Mu-
seum. This met with the approval of the finder.
The specimen is a perfect example of a prehistoric art, and
may be classed as a problematical object.
It is almost round, 2^" in width, 2}4" in length, and l l / 2 "
in thickness. The pebble was shaped by the action of the
glaciers and worn smooth by the constant action of the
water. It is a dia-base material of a slate black color . The
edges are abruptly rounded. The sides are convex. It has a
crude human face carved on one of its sides. The forehead is
crossed by a curved line{j|" in length, which represents the base
of a head dress. The feathers are five in number, triangular in
shape, y%" at the base and y%" to the apex.
The midrib of the feather is indicated by a perpendicular
line. A number of fine parallel lines between the feathers and
extending over the edge represents hair.
An Unusual Ceremonial Stone 31
The eyes are indicated by parallel horizontal lines, the upper
one y+" long, the lower one about half that length. The lines
slope downward toward the outer edge of the face.
The nose is triangular in outline with the apex open, the
lines run downward in slight curves to a straight line on the
bottom indicating the base of the nose. The side lines are 1"
long, the base line is y" . The mouth line is 1%" long and has
a slight upward curve at each end. There are two V-shaped
lines on each side of the mouth, possibly representing the ears.
This stone may at one time have been used for an anvil stone
as it has the tell-tale peck marks on each side in the center.
Otherwise the stone is quite smooth.
The author believes that this specimen is the finest of its
kind in the Oshkosh Museum. We would like to know if there
are any similiar objects in any other collection of archeological
artifacts in the state.
Other artifacts of this type may come to light as time goes
on. It is gratifying to know that our Wisconsin Aborigines had
a keen taste for art in spite of the fact that they could neither
read nor write. They could draw or design wonderful records
which are found by us in these later days.
32 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
LASLEY POINT MOUND CRUISING
By Harold R. Bullock
During the summer of 1941 after the two men who had been
hired by the Oshkosh Public Museum to complete the recon-
struction of Mounds No. 3, 6, 6-A, and 28 had finished the
work, James Nugent and the author spent nine days cruising
through the dense undergrowth of the Lasley Point area look-
ing for mounds. Mr. Nugent was one of the men hired for the
reconstruction work and was about 73 years of age. While
doing the work assigned to them he became interested in the
area and was always on the lookout for mounds while going
from place to place. While they were doing the filling in the
author was with them and did some further excavating in No.
6 which had not been completely excavated.
The only means of checking distances and the location of the
mounds was a large plat laid out by the Oshkosh State Teach-
ers College Surveying Class in 1938. This plat was about
twenty eight inches square and therefore very cumber^- imc t<>
handle in the thick brush, and should it be used and damaged
the only record would also be damaged if not destroyed. The
author made a reduced sized plat, 8^" x 11", which could be
tacked to a board and covered with oil cloth to protect it from
the brush and rain, and this size was convenient to carry
around. This area covers about 60 acres and is covered with
second growth timber, largely oak and poplar, while the under-
brush is dense and contained much briar and thorn bearing
growth, such as thornapples, prickly ash, wild gooseberries,
wild raspberries, etc.
Our intention was to relocate as many of the first platted
mounds as we could find, and look for new mounds. Data
about the mounds first found had not been obtained and we
intended getting as much of this missing data as possible.
Mr. Kannenberg took us out and came after us each day we
went out and occasionally he took enough time to go and look
at some of the places we found and also did some cruising
Lasley Point Mound Cruising 33
through the brush. He also found some mounds which we in-
vestigated later with the exception of four which were found
late on the last day. These were found after 5 :30 p. m. and we
did not get a chance to go out after that so that these were not
platted.
During the time we were in the brush we tried to find all
the mounds which had been platted by the surveying class in
April before the foliage began to come out. Mounds were
easily spotted then but it was an entirely different proposition
when the foliage was abundant. We found some of the old
identification stakes, some with the numbers barely legible and
others obliterated either by the weather or a fire which Yonke,
the owner, had set in an endeavor to clear out the brush. All
the mounds we found and could check 011 the plat or add to
it were marked by blazing nearby trees and putting the mound
numbers on the blazes. Some were also marked with small
pieces of tin on which the author had painted numbers This
was particularly true of the lower numbers.
Test pits were dug in many of the mounds, especially the
new ones which were not on the plat. When a mound was
found and numbered its measurements were taken and its
location noted on the plat. The scale of the plat was small so
the exact size of the mounds could not be platted but had to be
made a little larger, in many cases, so that they could be seen
on the plat. This applies particularly to the small mounds.
However, special sketches were made of each giving the neces-
sary information as to shape, size and height, and notations
made of findings found in the test pits. We tried test pits in
about ten places which looked like mounds but which yielded
nothing but stones and rocks and we called them "duds" but
these may be rock mounds. If these are mounds we were not
lucky enough to strike the pit though we endeavored to pick
out the most likely spots, such as depressions near the center
which might indicate a possible pit below. The depth of the
test holes averaged 26 inches.
Close to mound No. 40 we found a number of smaller ones
but could get no data on them because of the extremely thick
brush. We measured the outside of this area and noted the
34 WISCONSIN AKCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
number of mounds we could locate. We tried several test pits
which produced some shells and potsherds. We did no clean-
ing out of brush so as not to incur Yonke's displeasure. It had
been learned before that, though he tried to burn over the
place, he wanted no one but himself to do any cleaning out of
brush.
During the time we were out in this area we found about
fifteen new mounds including the four found the last day and
not counting the places we listed as ''duds".
The garden beds sketched on the plat do not begin to show
the quantity there are in this area. The place is literally cov-
ered with these garden beds and it is almost a job to find a
place where there are no beds nor signs of beds. Most of the
beds are three feet from crest to crest but the last day Mr.
Kannenberg found some that were five feet crest to crest and
nine inches high instead of the regular six inches that we have
been accustomed to travel over.
It is hoped that more information may be obtained later.
On the accompanying chart, information is missing on sev-
eral mounds because it was impossible to obtain it due to the
thick brush, and two mounds, No. 13 and No. 31, could not be
located.
Laslev Point Mound Cruising
35
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Lasley Point Mound Excavations 37
LASLEY POINT MOUND EXCAVATIONS
By Harold R. Bullock
About thirteen miles from Oshkosh is a farm which had
formerly belonged to an Indian family named Lasley and is
now known as Lasley's Point. This place had been described
by Publius V. Lawson in the Wisconsin Archeologist of Oct.,
1902. But since the Lasleys would permit no excavations of
the mounds on their property, Mr. Lawson could draw con-
clusions about them only from surface indications.
During the latter part of April, 1937, Arthur P. Kannenberg,
Curator of Archeology in the Oshkosh Public Museum, went
out to this farm to see what information he "could obtain. He
talked with the Sersteds who lived on the farm and they told
him what they knew of the place and showed him some of the
mounds. They were willing to permit excavations of the
mounds and a contract was accordingly drawn up and signed
by the Sersteds and the Oshkosh Public Museum.
MOUND NO. 1
Early in May, 1937, Mr. Kannenberg, with the assistance of
Gerald Stowe, started excavating what is now known as
Mound No. 1. This was an oval mound 16'-8" x 29'-0" and twen-
ty-eight inches high. On the top of this mound was a place
where a few human bones protruded through the sod. This
was the immediate cause for excavations starting in this place.
The excavation disclosed, near the center of the mound, two
flexed burials at about right angles to each other, one on its
back and the other on its side. The skull of the one lying on
its back was badly crushed while the other was in nearly per-
fect condition. Neither of these skeletons was far below the
top of the mound. An intrusive burial was also found, it being
some of these bones which protruded above the sod.
A little to the north of the flexed burials was a large altar
and near the northeast corner of this was a cache of throwing
discs. To the south of the skeletons was a refuse pit near which,
on the west side, was a shell pile. About six inches below the
surface was a layer of shells averaging 4 inches in depth and
38 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
covering nearly three fourths of the mound. A considerable
quantity of shell-tempered potsherds, fish and bird bones, some
Winnebago arrow-heads and snub-nosed scrapers were found.
The only features uncovered were the altar, refuse pit and two
fire-places. This excavation was 43 inches deep.
MOUND NO. 2
Mound No. 2 was a conical mound 33'-0" in diameter, 18"
high and was 200 feet west northwest of No. 1. The excavated
pit was 30" deep and the features uncovered were almost en-
tirely fire-places with a few very small altars and three small
refuse pits. The artifacts found in this mound consisted of
shell-tempered potsherds, arrow-heads, scrapers, beads and a
cache of bone tools. Parts of a large beautiful pot were found
here which were reconstructed by the Milwaukee Museum.
MOUND NO. 3
Mound No. 3 was a conical mound 36'-0" in diameter and
3'-4" high and was about forty feet east of No. 2. The first
excavation, to what appeared to be the subsoil, was nearly
4'-0" deep, and here was found the largest quantity of artifacts,
some of which were new to Wisconsin lore.
Near the center of this mound was a large well formed re-
fuse pit 34" x 58" inside and 34" deep. It had a well built stone
wall and appeared to be the main feature of the mound. From
it, to the east and south, extended a semi-circular row of stones
and southwest a circle of stones which resembled some form
of seating arrangement. A little to the north was an altar on
which was a deer skeleton. Fire-places, ash pits, altars and
small refuse pits were numerous. On one small fire-place the
crowns of three skulls were found in a position resembling
pots in place.
Artifacts from this mound were found in great quantity.
Shell-tempered potsherds, three (3) eyed bone needles, fish and
animal bone awls, copper beads, small pieces of flat copper,
arrow-heads of which only eight were foreign types, scrapers,
corn mills, anvil and hammer stones, shell discs, perforated
Lasley Point Mound Excavations 39
shells, serrated shells, squaw dice, etc. Enough matching pot-
sherds were found to make it possible for the Milwaukee Mu-
seum to reconstruct many pots. Many human bones, especially
marrow bones charred and split open, were found in the refuse
pits. About six bushels of clam shell were accumulated in one
pile which was then considered a large quantiy.
A large part of the summer of 1937 was spent excavating
this mound. In the summer of 1938 while cleaning out a fire
pit, sand tempered potsherds were found about 36" below the
floor of the mound. Curiosity was aroused which led to a
deeper excavation in the northeast quarter of the mound. It
was found that at an average of 30" deeper this other type of
potsherd was quite common though not nearly as profuse as
the shell tempered found previously. It was also discovered
that there were practically no shells at this depth and very
few bones of any kind.
The total depth of the excavation of this mound was nearly
seven feet and the mound reconstruction was completed dur-
ing the summer of 1941.
MOUND NO. 4
Mound No. 4 was a conical mound 20'-3" in diameter, 26"
high and was about 700 feet northeast of No. 3. It was excava-
ted during the summer of 1938 and is still open. The excava-
tion work of this mound started June 7, 1938.
This was a stone covered mound with a burial pit just north-
east of the center. There was one skeleton in a very small pit
with the skull in almost perfect condition, but most of the
rest of the bones, especially below the right shoulder, were
almost entirely decomposed. This pit lay in a north northwest
to south southeast direction, the north end 31" wide, the south
40" wide and the length 58".
Near the right elbow of the skeleton was found an almost
perfect sand tempered pot about 6" in diameter. Nearly one
third of the rim was missing and the rest was badly cracked
40 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
but all of the pieces were in place. This pot was also recon-
structed. No other artifacts were found in this mound.
The stone covering of this mound consisted of 600 stones,
266 of which were over 10" in size and 344 under that size.
MOUND NO. 5
No. 5 was a conical mound 30'-8" in diameter, 1? inch high
and 20 feet southwest of No. 4. Excavation work of this mound
was begun on July 31, 1937.
This was a rock covered mound with a total of 1042 stones
exposed, 593 of which were over eight inches and 449 under
eight inches in size. In the pit, which was just east of the
center, were found three skeletons so much decomposed that
the bones were powder but could be traced in the soil. Only
the teeth of one skull remained. However, there were two leg
bones that were in a fair state of preservation. Also in this
pit was found part of a moose antler which was so soft that
it could not be handled. Ambroid was applied in an endeavor
to make in movable, but it turned white and remained immov-
able. Part of an elk antler, also in poor state of preservation,
was likewise found. One sand tempered pot was uncovered
in the pit. This pot was nearly complete and, though badly
broken, the pieces w r ere still in place. No other artifacts were
found in this mound.
The excavation was 33 inches deep and is still open.
MOUND NO. 6
Mound No. 6 was a conical mound 33'-0" in diameter, 29
inches high and about 450 feet north northeast of No. 3. This
mound may possibly be part of a dumb-bell mound for there
is what appears to be a stone ridge running from the north-
west side in a semi-circular shape to another mound, No. 7,
which is about 50 feet northeast of it.
Excavation of this mound was started on August 2, 1937, and
reconstruction was completed July 21, 1941.
Lasley Point Mound Excavations 41
Judging from the quantity of shells which were found, this
mound was evidently a place for feasts. A pile of shells
estimated to weigh a little over 2,000 pounds was made from
the shells sifted from the earth of this mound. Because of the
quantities of shells it was necessary to sift only one shovelfull
at a time in several places. This was necessary so as to avoid
overlooking artifacts in the sieve, especially those made of
shell such as discs,. perforated and serrated shells. The serra-
tions on the edges of these "shell spoons" were of varied
sizes, from very small to very large, and were generally of
mixed sizes on each shell so serrated. It has been believed that
seven varieties of shells were found, four of which are now
extinct in Winnebago waters.
Besides two large refuse pits, one 51 inch in diameter and 25
inch deep and the other 36 inch in diameter and 13 inch deep,
there were many small ones. The other features consisted of
numerous fire-places, small, medium and large, with some con-
structed of stone and others on the bare ground. Two altars
were located near the center of the mound.
The artifacts consisted of shell tempered potsherds, a few
pieces of negative painted potsherds not enough of which
were found to make reconstruction possible, arrowheads, scrap-
ers, bone awls, bone beads, hammer stones and a perfect stone
pipe. No copper artifacts of any kind were found in this
mound. Some of the refuse pits contained charred human
bones mixed in with the fish, bird, animal bones and turtle
shell fragments.
The mound floor was 47 inches below the top and the great-
est depth, a fire-pit, was 25 inches below the floor, with another
fire-pit 13 inches below the floor of the mound.
The work in this mound was carried on during some hot
weather with the temperatures frequently running higher than
100 degrees, and the hottest was 125 degrees from 1:00 p. m.
to 3 :30 p. m. on one afternoon.
MOUND NO. 6-A
Mound No. 6-A was an oval mound 16'-0" x 12'-0" and was
12 inches high. This mound was at first believed to be merely
42 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
a stone pile, stones thrown off the neighboring garden beds,
and was 20'-0" southeast of No. 6.
Curiosity got the better of Mr. Kannenberg and on June 24,
1939 when the temperature was 116 degrees at 10:00 a. in. in
No. 6 he decided to investigate. This "rock pile" was in the
shade so it offered some relief from the sun. Near the center
of the mound was a small tree about 8 inches in diameter.
This "rock pile" turned out to be another rock mound, but
the number of stones was not noted. There may have been in
the neighborhood of 150 to 200 stones uncovered here. Near
the center, to the north of the tree, the pit was found which
contained what was left of a skeleton, only a few bones in a
very poor state of preservation.
No artifacts, with the exception of a few sand tempered
potsherds, were found. The depth of the excavation was 35
inches, and the mound was reconstructed on July 17, 1941.
MOUND NO. 8
Mound No. 8 was a conical mound 35'-0" in diameter, 15 inch
high and was 40'-0" southwest of No. 6. Excavation work
was started on this mound June 26, 1939.
This was evidently a ceremonial mound. Many fire-places
were uncovered which were built of stone, three places where
clam shells were plentiful and several refuse pits. Many
charred human bones were found in these refuse pits and in
the ash pits. There were no altars in this mound.
The artifacts found were shell tempered potsherds, a few
arrow-heads and scrapers, several bone chisels and awls.' Noth-
ing in copper was found here.
The depth of the excavation was 33 inches and the recon-
struction was completed on July 11, 1941.
(It was the second day after the start of the excavation of
this mound that we were locked out of the area for two
months).
Lasley Point Mound Excavations 43
MOUND NO. 28
Mound No. 28 was a conical mound 27'-6" in diameter, 23
inches high and was about 600 feet north northeast of No. 6.
It was back in thick brush and second growth timber, and as
it so happened, this made it difficult to work because of the
quantity of rain which fell and the second growth timber so
thick that the sun, when it did shine, had little chance to dry
it and this kept the soil so wet that it was difficult, and at
times impossible, to sift.
Excavation work started on this mound on May 7, 1938, and
this mound turned out to be something new in the matter of
contents uncovered than the other mounds contained. Near the
center was built a large stone refuse pit and from this toward
the northwest ran a stone work shaped something like a gourd.
There were almost no other features of any kind. It was
thought that somewhere under this stone work there might be
a burial, but when the stones were removed nothing was lound.
The artifacts found were almost entirely shell tempered pot-
sherds, and the quantity of these was not very large. The refuse
pit was filled with fish, bird and animal bones. Fish scales were
very plentiful in this pit, and the majority of potsherds found
were located here. The quantity of clam shells was not large,
possibly half as many as were found in No. 3.
Reconstruction work was completed on July 11, 1941.
CACHE PIT
Along the trail from No. 6 to No. 28 two cache pits were
found. On June 18, 1938, Mr Kannenberg excavated one of
them. This excavation was 30 inches square and 15 inches deep.
In it could be seen the remains of the pit lining which appeared
to have been of birch bark, and on the bottom was a layer of
greyish earth which was what was left of the contents which
had been stored there.
EXCAVATION METHODS
After the brush and small trees had been removed from the
mound to be excavated, the regulation five foot squares were
44 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
laid out, and a trench was dug through the center. When this
was completed, the trench was widened by excavating the five
foot strips on one side or the other and this was continued
until the mound was excavated. The digging operations were
done almost entirely by means of trowels and the sifting done
through a quarter inch mesh sieve.
Sod was removed with a shovel and in a few places in the
mounds where it was apparent nothing would be found, the
shovel was also used.
A camp was established by surrounding a space with two
rolls of drift fence, to keep the cows out, and here was kept the
tool box and a table built where lunches were eaten.
The "Cairn" at Lasley's Point 45
THE "CAIRN" AT LASLEY'S POINT
By Hiram Eldon Mansfield
Primitive ! That 's what it is.
That's why it baffles so completely.
We have wit enough to reconstruct as neatly,
As one may wish,
From fragments of a dish,
An artifact or two,
A bone or what have you,
The cultures that hark back to this.
But THIS this heap of stones its very self!
It is too simple, ergo, too profound !
We scratch our troubled polls. The eerie sound
Of ghostly, mocking laughter
Follows after
The grave hypothesis,
The still-born synthesis
Which we, bewildered, have lifted from the shelf.
Of old familiar practise.
The proved technique fit nothing to this place.
Who and of what sort the prehistoric race
That labored here,
That struggled here
Fashioning this reply,
To urgent inner cry
Obedient, we know nothing NOTHING ! The Fact is
We know very, very little at the best.
Our own hands build no temples to our God.
Instead we let the contract to some clod
Of heedless artisan,
Who draws a plan
Without a dream,
As though, 'twould seem,
Dreams and God had nought to be expressed
46 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No 2
In common. Fools ! God and temples must
Both alike be dressed before they -live.
This dreamer dreamed. Perhaps gave his life to give
Light to the blind,
His people. Then to bind
Between their eyes
The awe-filled guise
Of vision, he plotted this. And so passed on to dust.
His tribesmen raised their gaze from too close concern
With what was near. They sallied forth to tug
From their beds these stones, each stone a strong man's
lug,
They laid them down,
Each man his own,
Contributing,
Distributing,
Fulfilling together the pattern of their dim discern.
You think the question now, "What mean these stones?"
But ages since, as written in the Book,
Wise Joshua from the banks of Jordan took
For each tribe, one
Vast massy stone,
And pitched a "cairn"
Like this. The Hebrew bairn
Grown thoughtful would enquire, "What mean ye by these
stones?"
And thus the tale passed on from age to age,
How at that very Jordan on a day
God wrought deliverance. And now, I say
For what it 's worth :
This heap of earth,
These bones,
These mutely shouting stones,
Fulfill their purpose when the puzzled sage
The * 'Cairn" at Lasley's Point 47
Ejaculates, "What mean these stones?" For there's
Your answer. In some dim and groping past
Our ancient brothers dreamed their God at last.
They dreamed and templed God,
Upon this very sod.
To them the right place,
To us a good place,
For meeting them and God in the crisp October airs.
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
The election of officers for the year 1942 to March 1943 took place
at our meeting of the society on March 16, 1942. The new officers
are indicated following the title page in this number. Mr. Elmer
Nelson of the Staff of the Milwaukee Public Museum spoke on
"Climate and Evolution". Treasurer G. M. Thome reported a balance
on hand of $59.05, receipts for the past year 8329.29, expenses $339.60.
President Brown appointed Joseph Ringeisen Jr., W. C. McKern,
and W. A. Andrew to the Auditing Committee.
Dr. A. L. Kastner gave an address at the April 20 meeting on the
"Mongolian Spot", which was well received. The members of the
Committees, suggested by President Brown were confirmed by the
members. Vice President Freckman presided in the absence of Pres-
ident Brown. Mr. Ringeisen, Jr., gave the report of the Auditing
Committee.
Mr. C. G- Schoewe, retiring chairman of the Biographical Com-
mittee moved that his Committee be suspended. As it was felt that
these activities do not touch upon the subject of Archeology the
motion was accepted.
Mr. W. C. McKern, Chairman of a Committee consisting of Mr.
Freckman and Mr. Berg, has undertaken a project designed to cate-
gorically list all of the Wisconsin Archeological sites. The first re-
port of the intentions of this Committee will be published in the
September issue of the Archeologist.
Dr. George H. Reddick of Wabeno, Wis. has sent the Editor an
article from the Pulaske County Democrat published at Winamac,
Indiana, Thursday, May 30, 1940. He states, "my grandfather foun-
ded the Town in 1839 when he drove a covered wagon from Ohio to
the site on the Tippecanoe River". The article reports the finding of
copper beads with an Indian skeleton on the Peterson Farm in Tippe-
canoe Township. The copper beads were hung about the neck with
Jarger beads about the wrists and ankles. The beads ranged in size
from one forth to one half inch in diameter. On the chest lying
fan-wise were seven spear points, all more than five inches in length
and made of hard smooth black flint. In addition 306 small unfin-
ished "darts" were found nearby. The article goes on to say "more
than likely the Indian was a member of the Miami or Pottawatomie
tribe, for they were the two most numerous in this section of the
State. Miamis lived here first, relinquishing their lands to other
tribes, chief of which was the Pottawatomie". The grave lay on a
sandy ridge overlooking the Tippecanoe River. Dr. Reddic says that
to his knowledge this it the first report of the finding of copper
artifacts in the State of Indiana especially the northern part-
The State and Local History News, published Bi-monthly in Wash-
ington, D. C. carried this item on its editorial page in the March issue :
"Charles E. Brown, director of the Wisconsin State Historical Mu-
seum, has withdrawn from his post as editor of the Wisconsin Arch-
eologist, which he has held for 40 years. He is succeeded by Robert
B. Hartman. Mr. Brown's 40 year tenure made him dean of Historical
publication editors.".
The Wisconsin Archeological Society met with the Wisconsin Acad-
emy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, Wisconsin Museums Conference,
and Wisconsin Folklore Society at Science Hall, University of Wiscon-
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
sin, Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, 1942. Papers of the rnenir-
bers which were read before the meeting will be published in later
issues of the Archeologist.
Reverend Peter A. Resch, Marynook Novitate of the Marianists,
Gaiesville, Wisconsin, wishes information concerning the Indian Prin-
cess Marie Nounka after whom Lake Marinuka at Gaiesville has been
named. If anyone has this data kindly send same to the editor who
would then forward it to Rev. Resch.
Dr. Louise P. Kellogg and Dorothy Moulding Brown were elected
to Honorary membership at the March 1942 meeting of the society.
Both members have given many years of service to our society and
we take great pleasure in announcing this recognition in their behalf.
We look forward to many more years of happy association with
them. Mrs. Dorothy Brown, wife of our President Charles E. Brown,
has contributed many interesting papers for publication in the Arch-
eologist.
Wisconsin
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
1874 N. 40th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
23 ^cptem&er, 1942 &o. 3
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area
Louise Phelps Kellogg
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.50 PER YEAR
Entered as 2d class matter at the P.O. at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
January 28, 1921, under the Act of August 21, 1912.
Wisconsin &rcf)eoiogist
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
1874 N. 40th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
VOLUME 23, NO. 3
1942
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
Page
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area, Vetal Winn 49
Louise Phelps Kellogg, Charles E. Broivn 86
Archeological Notes, Walter Bubbert 88
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
^rrtKologirat
:#Ultoaufeee,
Incorporated March 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study
and preservation of Wisconsin antiquities
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Chas. E. Brown
VICE PRESIDENTS
A. P. Kannenberg Dr. A. K. Fisher W. K. Andrews
Louis Pierron Kermit Freckman
DIRECTORS
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
W. C. McKern
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Dr. W. H. Brown
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
Erwin G. Burg
Walter Bubbert
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
W. E. Erdman
John G. Gregory
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
Zida C. Ivey
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
Dr. A. L. Kastner
Dr. Louise P. Kellogg
B. W. Knoblock
J. J. Knudser
A. E. Koerner
TREASURER
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
T. S. Miller
Robert Ritzenthaler
C. G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
J. P. Schumacher
V. S. Taylor
Vetal Winn
G. R. Zilisch
G. M. Thorne
917 N. Forty-ninth Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR
Robert B. Hartman
1874 N. Fortieth Street, Milwaukee, Wis-
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Robert Ritzenthaler G. M. Thorne
COMMITTEES
REGULAR
STATE SURVEY W. C. McKern, Robert Ritzenthaler, A. P. Kan-
nenberg, Kermit Freckman, Robert R. Jones, J. P. Schumacher,
Vetal Winn, Wm. K. Andrew, Frank M. Neu, J. P. Barr, Dr.
Phiileo Nash, Virginia Drew, M. F. Hulbert, W. E. Erdman, Dr.
P. H. Nesbitt
MOUND PRESERVATION Walter Bubbert, H. 0. Zander, C. A.
Koubeck, 0. L. Hollister, Louis Pierron, A. C. Fiedler, Mrs. W. J.
Devine, T. L. Miller, Arthur W. Quan, R. S. Zigman, Louis N.
Skavlem, Mary M. Vandenberg, H. R. Bullock, V. G. Jackson.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Nile C. Behncke, Dr. Ira Edwards, Dr.
Elmer Nelson, Frederic Heath, Marie C. Kohler, Marvel Ings,
G. C. Stowe, Zida C. Ivey, Dr. F. S. Dayton, R. N. Buckstaff , Mark
H. Knight, N. W. Roeder, Alonzo Pond, Jens Jacobsen.
MEMBERSHIP G. M. Thome, Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Dr. A. L. K^stner,
Mrs. Theodore Koerner, Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, Dr. L. S.
Buttles, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich, M. G. Schmidt, J. K.
Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS Walter Bubbert, C. L. Harr-
ington, W. E. Scott, Victor S. Taylor, Walter Holsten, Mrs. Robert
E. Friend.
PUBLICITY Mrs Wm. K. Andrew, R. B. Hartman, H. J. Kent,
Mrs. A. E. Koerner, A. 0. Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlan, Dorothy
M. Brown.
SPECIAL
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Robert Ritzenthaler, C. G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell.
PUBLICATIONS Robert B. Hartman, A. E. Koerner, Dr. H. W.
Kuhm, G. M. Thome, R. S. Van Handel.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Walter Bubbert, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Jean Bara.
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A.
Barrett, C. G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell-
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Endowment Members, $500 00
Sustaining Members, $5.00 Annual Members, $2.00
Institutional Members, $1.50 Junior Members, $ .50
All communications in regard to The Wisconsin Archeological Society should
he addressed to Robert B. Hartman, 1874 N. 40th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be addressed to him. Dues
should be sent to G. M. Thome, Treasurer, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Cl)e Wisconsin &rcf)eolog;tst
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 23 No. 3
MILWAUKEE, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1942
New Series.
ORNAMENTED COPPERS OF THE WISCONSIN AREA
Vetal Winn
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Collecting the data for the following treatise has necessi-
tated considerable correspondence- Without the assistance of
those having specimens or information regarding them, writ-
ing the treatise would have been impossible . Those who an-
swered my letters of inquiry also assisted in establishing the
limits of the subject and I hereby express my thanks to them
and to all who assisted in the work whether it was by the
loan of a specimen, a sketch, or a letter giving whatever data
was possible.
Among those who furnished information are Messrs. D.
Jenness, Chief, Division of Anthropology, National Museum of
Canada, Ottawa, Can. ; Kenneth E. Kidd, Assistant Keeper,
Royal Ontario Museum of Archeology, Toronto, Can. ; Douglas
S. Byers. Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. ; N. C. Nelson,
Curator of Prehistoric Archeology, American Museum of
Natural History, New York ; E. K. Burnett, Museum of the
American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York ; N. T. Clarke,
State Archeologist, Albany, New York ; J. Alden Mason, Mu-
seum of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. ;
Richard G. Morgan, Ohio State Museum, Columbus, 0. ; Thome
Deuel, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, 111. ; Chas. R. Keyes,
Iowa Archeological Survey, Mt. Vernon, la. ; Jean Peterman
Kemp, Michigan College of Mining and Technology, Houghton,
Mich. ; Dr. J. B. Ruyle, Champaign, 111. ; B. W. Stephens, Quin-
cy, 111. ; P. H. Nesbitt, Curator of Archeology, Beioit College,
Beloit, Wisconsin ; Gerald C. Stowe, Curator, Douglas County
Historical Museum, Superior, Wis. ; William Woods, Curator,
Fond du Lac Museum, Fond du Lac, Wis. ; William F. Reed,
Lawrence College, Appleton, Wis. ; E. A. Hickey, Secretary-
Treasurer, Sheboygan County Historical Society, Sheboygan,
Wis. ; and Chas. M. Christiansen, County Historian, Racine,
Wis.
For loan of specimens, sketches of specimens, data, etc., I
am indebted to Messrs. A. Wetmore, Assistant Secretary U. S.
National Museum, Washington, D. C. j Charles E, Brown, Direc-
50 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGTST Vol. 23, No. 3
tor State Historical Museum, Madison, Wis. ; A. P. Kannen-
berg, Curator of Archeology, Oshkosh Public Museum, Osh-
kosh, Wis. ; Earl G. Wright, Director Neville Public Museum,
Green Bay, Wis. ; Rev. F. S. Dayton, Custodian New London
Public Museum, New London, Wis.; Donald 0. Doudeman,
Curator of Archeology, Kalamazoo Public Museum, Kalama-
zoo, Mich. ; Charles V. Fuller, Grand Ledge, Mich. ; the late
Dr. Alphonse Gerend M. D., Sheboygan, Wis. ; A. D. Grutz-
macher, Mukwonago, Wis. ; John Guidinger, Granville, Wis. ;
Byron Knobloch, Lagrange, 111.; Frank Mueller, Princeton,
Wis. ; George Overton, Oshkosh, Wis. ; Henry Rademaker Jr.,
Milwaukee, Wis. ; Paul Scholz, Greenfield, Wis., Walter Schu-
ette, Manitowoc, Wis. ; P. C. Schupp, Chicago, 111., and Herman
0. Zander, Milwaukee, Wis.
I wish especially to thank Mr. W. C. McKern, Curator of
Anthropology, Milwaukee Public Museum, for use of specimens
and for advice and assistance in preparation of manuscript,
plates, etc.
Most Wisconsin archeologists and collectors of Indian arti-
facts are aware of the fact that certain copper implements and
a few copper ornaments bear marks or indentures which were
added after the artifacts were made. These indentures appear
to be of as great age as the artifacts which bear them. They
are commonly known as "tally marks" and various explana-
tions have been given regarding them, each of which may
appear plausable in regard to individual specimens. However,
in order to determine the meaning of the marks as a class, it
is necessary to examine a series of the artifacts which bear
them. It is my purpose to describe as large a series of them
as possible, comprising a majority of those known to be ex-
tant. As copper artifacts are usually divided into two classes,
ornaments and implements, the small number of decorated
copper ornaments will be described first.
DECORATED COPPER ORNAMENTS
In Plate 1, Fig. 1, is shown a decorated pendant measuring
3% inches in width and 3% inches in height. It seems to
have originally had a loop at the top which has been broken
off. It is decorated by a series of elongated indentures arranged
in rows, three vertical and one horizontal, roughly in the form
of a cross- It was found as part of a cache of three pieces, the
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area
51
j
PLATE 1. ORNAMENTED COPPERS OF THE WISCONSIN
AREA
Size about Vz.
For Description see Text
Courtesy Milwaukee Public Museum
52 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
other two being canoe shaped crescents. Of the crescents, the
larger measures 7% inches in length, the smaller 6 inches.
Each has the outside edge beveled. The smaller has a series of
thirty notches or transverse cuts on the inside or upper edge
quite equally spaced and extending the entire length of the
edge. The cache is said to have been found about five feet
below the surface of the ground in the cemetary in Menominee,
Michigan, by a man digging a grave. It is probable that they
are part of the contents of a grave for the place is the site of
a pre-historic cemetery and several Indian graves have been
found there in the past. The three pieces are in the H. 0.
Zander collection in Milwaukee.
In Plate 1, Fig. 2, is shown a copper pendant 1% inches long-
and % inches wide, tapering slightly toward the rounded
upper end which has a hole for suspension. It has two trans-
verse crescent-shaped indentures on one side about midway
between the two ends of the piece, one near each edge. It is
in my own collection and was found at Two River Point about
seven miles north of Two Rivers, Manitowoc County. From
Two Rivers north for about seven miles was a nearly continous
camp site or more properly a series of camp sites overlapping.
In the Rev. F. S. Dayton collection at New London is a pen-
dant of nearly the same size and shape as the one just described
except that the hole for suspension is in the wider end. It has
a longitudinal row of four circular indentures on each side
The indentures are about 1/16 inch in diameter. It was found
near the south shore of Lake Poygan, Winnebago County.
In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a thin, flat strip of
copper about 6 inches long and of an average width of nearly
1^4 inches. It seems to have been longer as it is broken at
both ends. It is decorated on one side with transverse incisions
arranged in three longitudinal rows, one row near each edge
and the third row in the center. The incisions are about %
inch long and an equal distance apart. Its use is unknown.
Beauchamp * mentions the use of metallic headbands among
the historic Indians of New York. If the pre-historic Indians
* Metallic Ornaments of the New York Indians, by William M. Beauchamp
Bulletin N. Y. State Museum, Albany, N. Y. 1903.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 53
of Wisconsin made use of metallic headbands, the piece just
described may well be a part of one. It is stated to have been
found in Wisconsin, exact locality unknown.
A few ornaments have been found having the edge serrated
or scalloped. Such a specimen was formerly in the Gerend
collection at Sheboygan. It was a thin flat strip of copper
about 1/2 inch wide, bent around so that the ends were lj/2
inches apart. At the lower edge next to one end were fourteen
notches or serrations. At the other end, the upper edge had
the same number of notches. Dr. Gerend called it a "hair
band". The notches probably, served a double purpose of
ornamentation and utility. They would give a grip for a cord
tied to the ends of the band to hold it rigid. It was found
in Wilson Township, Sheboygan County.
Ur. Gerend * also describes a small copper crescent of which
he says "the ends almost meet and one end being pronged. This
specimen is ornamented by transverse incised markings' '. It
was also found in Wilson Township, and, at the time Dr.
Gerend wrote, was in the Anton Junck collection at Sheboy-
gan.
A few copper bracelets with transverse incisions near the
ends have been found. One in the Joseph Ringeisen, Jr., col-
lection was found in Beloit Township, Rock County.
The list of decorated copper ornaments is small. However,
the number of plain copper ornaments is also small. When w.e
consider the fondness of the early historic Indians for orna-
ments of all kinds, this seems strange. However, excepting
bracelets, and a few others, most copper ornaments were flat
and thin. It is possible that from corrosion on both faces,
many, perhaps a majority, became entirely converted into
verdigris which disintegrated and disappeared.
Archeology of Sheboygan County, by Alphonse Gerend, M. D., Wisconsin
Archeologist, August, 1920.
54
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Vol. 23, No. 3
DECORATED COPPER IMPLEMENTS
Implements Decorated in a Special or Unique Manner
Decorated copper implements are much more numerous than
decorated copper ornaments, and they are usually decorated
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 55
in a very conventional manner. A few, however, are decorated
in a unique or special manner and they will be described first.
In Plate 2, Fig. 1, is shown the outline of a copper spud 5%
inches long, 2*4 inches wide at the cutting edge, and 2% inches
wide at the other end. It has a rolled socket which extends
from the wider end to within two inches from the cutting edge
where is a shoulder against which the handle of the implement
should rest. On the back of this implement and extending
nearly its entire length are tw r o zigzag incised lines.
Among the Indians in early historic times, a zigzag line was
the common symbol of lightning. It will be seen on the sketch
that one of the lines at the end near the cutting edge, has, be-
tween the last incision at the end and the next in line, a cut
extending outward at the side- This seems an attempt to repre-
sent forked lightning. On the other side of the implement, in-
side the socket and also on the blade near the cutting edge,
are several crescent-shaped indentures impressed quite deeply
into the metal. They are about % inch long and deepest at the
center, the depth tapering out at the ends ; probably the marks
of the object on which the implement rested while the incised
lines were being made.
There is a type of spud with ridged back, which, like the
ridge-backed spear head, has an angular projection at the
base or end of the socket. This specimen does not have a
ridged back but a rounded one. It has a projection at the end
of the socket, which resembles the projection at the end of the
socket of a ridge-backed spud, except that it is rounded at the
tip instead of angular. From the appearance of the implement,
one might suspect that it was originally ridge-backed and had
been re-worked later. It is in the Milwaukee Public Museum,
and is said to come from Fond du Lac County.
In the U. S. National Museum at Washington, D. C., are
casts of two peculiar shaped copper spear heads, the outlines
of which are shown in Plate 2, Figs. 2 and 3. Their length is
9% inches and 9 inches respectively. Their provenience is
56 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
''Wisconsin, C. L. Mann collection". It will be seen than No. 2
has a zigzag incised line, the symbol of lightning, on the back,
while on the front are two groups of incised lines, each group
somewhat resembling a bird track, and which probably are
intended as such, i.e- the tracks of the Thunder Bird. Fig. 3
is almost a duplicate of Fig. 2, except that the symbols of
lightning and thunder are reversed, lightning on the face and
thunder on the back. Now the original of Fig. 3 is in the
Milwaukee Public Museum and with it are two others of sim-
ilar shape, one 9 9/10 inches long is ornamented with eight
small circular indentures arranged in two parallel rows of
four each, extending across the implement at the base of the
blade. The third spear head, 6y 2 inches long, is unornamented
but of similar shape. The provenience on each of these spear
heads is "Fond du Lac County, bought from F. S. Perkins".
There can be little doubt that the four pieces, three in the
Milwaukee Public Museum and the one represented by the
cast (Plate 2, Fig. 2) in the National Museum are all from a
cache or grave in Fond du Lac County. It is probable that they
are ceremonial in character, but, ceremonial or not, it should
give great assurance to any man to go forth armed with a
spear carrying lightning and thunder, w r hether it be on the
warpath, to the hunt, or the dance.
In Plate 2, Fig. 5, is shown the approximate outline of a
copper knife about 9 inches long. It is of the common type
with flat, pointed tang. On the right face of the blade is a
series of fourteen transverse incised lines, beginning near the
point of the blade, and extending nearly to the center. The
incised lines occupy nearly the whole width of the blade and
are spaced on an average, a little less than 14 inch apart. This
knife is unique in having a series of incisions extend from the
point toward the base of the blade. Such a series usually ex-
tends from the base of the blade toward the point. It is in the
collection made in Manitowoc County by the late H. George
Schuette of Manitowoc and now in possession of his son,
.Walter Schuette.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 57
On the farm of the late Theodore Peters, W. V 2 of N. E. %
Sec. 31, Farmington Township, Washington County, a copper
spear head was found many years ago which had a flat tang
and resembled in outline the specimen shown as Fig. 10 on
Plate 2, but was somewhat smaller, about 3% inches long. On
one face was incised the figure shown as text Fig. 1, "n". The
incised lines were nearly 1/16 inch wide. The figure was about
I 1 /! inch long and % inch wide.
The description given is from memory as, since Mr. Peters'
death several years ago, the specimen has disappeared.
Plate 2, Fig. 11. shows the outline of a unique flat tanged
spear head 4 inches long. As shown in the figure, it has two
holes extending entirely through the base of the blade. One is
rectangular, 14 inch long and a little more than 1/16 inch wide.
The other is triangular but appears to have been intended to
duplicate the first, one end having been closed in pounding
down the edges after the holes were made. It seems doubtful
whether these holes were made for ornamentation or utility. The
spear head may have been ceremonial in character, in which
case the holes would have been convenient for the attachment
of feathers or other ornaments. It is in the Donald 0. Boude-
man collection at Kalamazoo, Mich., and is said to come from
Dunn County, Wis.
Implements Decorated in a Conventional Manner
Besides the comparatively few specimens already described,
which are ornamented in a special or unique manner, there
are the much more numerous implements ornamented in a
conventional manner. These have incisions or indentures
arranged in one, 'two, or three parallel longitudinal rows.
The indentures show considerable variety of form and size.
Some are square, usually about 1/16 inch across. A consider-
able number are rectangular, varying in size from 1/16x1/32
inch to 1/8x1/16 inch. A few are circular and they vary in
size from less than 1/16 inch to a full % inch in diameter.
Many are oval, about 3/16 inch in length. Incised lines are
58 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
from 3/16 inch to 1/2 inch or more in length. The spacing be-
tween the indentures varies considerably.
Obviously, the various indentures must have been made by
use of metallic tools and copper was the only metal used to
any extent by the Indians of this region. The incised lines
must have been made by edged tools. All other indentures
could have been made by use of a punch- In the Dayton col-
lection is an implement about 1% inches long which tapers
from !/4 inch in diameter at the larger end to a point. It has a
battered head nearly !/ inch in diameter and is somewhat bent,
probably from use as a punch. Many of the indentures on
copper implements were probably made by implements similar
to this. A short stout awl such as is occasionally found would
also have served very well, but rarely shows a battered head.
However, an awl fitted with a hardwood handle and used as
a punch would show no battering on the handle end and might
give considerable service before the handle split. In my own
collection is an implement 2% inches long, square in section,
5/16 inch across at the widest part which is about 1% inches
from the point. The point is blunt and the other end shows
no evidence of pounding. However, the implement has a
double bend, from which it appears probable that it has been
used as a punch, perhaps with a wood or bone handle. On a
sandy site near Minocqua, besides several copper implements,
were scraps of copper of various small sizes, the debris of
copper working. Among these were several pieces which
seemed to have been used as emergency tools for cutting,
punching, etc. It is likely that many of the indentures on
copper implements were made by tools of this class.
When an indenture is made in metal with a punch, the metal
beneath the punch becomes somewhat compressed and tends
to spread out from under the punch. This causes the surface
immediately contiguous to the indenture to be slightly raised.
Apparently, the Indians usually rubbed or ground the surface
of the implement to remove this unevenness. Sometimes, how-
ever, they seem to have pounded the surface to make it smooth,
thereby distorting the indentures so that occasionally they
appear as though made by holding the punch at a slant.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 59
As implements bearing thre rows of indentures are most
numerous and best exhibit certain characteristic features of
this class of artifacts, they will be described first.
In order to avoid constant repetition, it will be understood
that, unless otherwise stated, all specimens described were
found in Wisconsin. Also, unless otherwise stated, all knives
and spear heads have a rolled socket with a nail hole near the
base of the socket. Except where otherwise stated all rolled
socketted implements are decorated on the face. All are sup-
posed to be surface finds.
In Plate 1, Fig. 3, is shown a spear head ornamented on its
face with a conventional figure often circular indentures
arranged in three parallel rows of four indentures in each
outside row and two in the center row. This specimen is 7 3/16
inches in length and has beveled edges. The small nail or tack
which helped to fasten the head to the shaft is still in place.
It is in the Milwaukee Public Museum and was found near
Barton, Washington County.
The number of indentures on an implement with this design
may vary from three to more than twenty. Usually the outside
rows each contain a larger number of indentures than the
center row. It will be noticed that the center row of inden-
tures is not concurrent with the outside rows, the first inden-
ture of the center row, being beyond the last indentures of the
two outside rows. This is typical of the three row figure. Quite
often the center row consists of a single indenture.
In Fig. 1 is shown the different combinations of indentures
with which Wisconsin copper implements are conventionally
described with the indentures in place but reduced in size,
^a-e" show the common arrangement of a three-row figure,
"f " show a unique or unusual arrangement of three rows of in-
dentures, "k" shows the usual two-row figure on spear heads
and "i" shows the usual two-row figure on knives. A very few
spear heads have a figure like "i" and a few knives have a
figure like "a". A series of indentures in one row needs no
60 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
k
in
n
FIG. 1. VARIOUS ORNAMENTAL DESIGNS ON COPPER
IMPLEMENTS
Reduced in Size.
a-e, Comman three- row figures; f-g, Rare three-row figure; k,
Comtmon two-row figure; 1, Rare two-row figure; m, Single row of
indentures; n, Unique figure on spear head.
/ A V MI // ( (
FIG. 2. OWNER'S MARKS ON ARROWS OF THE EARLY
IRON AGE.
Found in Peat Bogs in Sleswyck. From Lubbock.
illustration but "m" shows an interesting difference in the size
of indentures in one figure.
Fig. 1, "a" shows the figure on a spear head 5 3/16 inches
long from Chimney Rock, Trempeleau County. It has six ova)
indentures arranged in three rows of two indentures in each
row. This specimen is in the Hamilton collection in the State
Historical Museum at Madison.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 61
The following eleven specimens are all in the State Histor-
ical Museum, the first seven being in the Hamilton collection.
A spear head 4% inches long conies from Matteson, Waupaca
County. Its decoration consists of six rectangular indentures
arranged in three rows of two indentures in each row (similar
to Fig. la). These indentures are a little more than 1/16 inch
long and a little more than 1/32 inch wide.
Another spear head of nearly the same description as the
last mentioned, except for difference in length, is 4% inches
long. Its six indentures are a little longer, about % inch. Lo-
cality, Holy Hill, Washington County.
A spear head 4 5/16 inches long is decorated with five in-
cised lines each about i/4 inch long, arranged in three rows,
two in each outside row and one in the center. Locality, Matt-
eson, Waupaca County.
A spear head 4 inches long has beveled edges. It has seven
indentures each about % inch long, arranged in three rows,
three in each outside row and one in the center. The two out-
side rows are just inside the bevel. It comes from Porterfield
Township, Marinette County.
Fig. 1, "e" shows the arrangement of indentures on a spear
head which measures 9 3/16 inches in length and nearly 1%
inches in width at the base of the blade. It has twenty-three
circular indentures of an average diameter of a little more
than 1/16 inch, arranged in three rows of eleven indentures in
each outside row and one in the center. Locality, Clifton,
Monroe County.
A spear head 4 1/16 inches long is decorated with seven
rectangular indentures in three rows, three indentures in each
outside row and one in the center. It is from Porterfield Town-
ship, Marinette County, and is very similar to another already
described from the same locality except that this spear head
has no beveled edges.
62 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
A small spear head 3 inches long has a socket with no nail
hole. It appears to be of the ridged or bayonet-backed type.
It has five oval indentures arranged in three rows, two in each
outside row and one in the center. Locality, Gibson, Manito-
woc County.
A spear head 5 1/16 inches long has nine rectangular inden-
tures arranged in three rows, four in each outside row, and
one in the center. Locality, Dellona Township, Sank County.
A spear head 5 3/16 inches long has seven rectangular inden-
tures in three rows, three in each outside row, and one in the
center. Locality, Rubicon, Dodge County.
A spear head 5% inches long in the F. S. Perkins collection,
is much corroded but has the small nail still in the socket. It
is decorated with nine oval indentures, four in each outside
row and one in the center. It comes from Sec. 8, Vernon Town-
ship, Waukesha County.
A spearhead 9% inches long has nine rectangular indentures
in three rows, four in each outside row, and one in the center-
Locality, Jackson, Washington County.
A spear head 4% inches long is decorated with five rectan-
gular indentures in three rows, two indentures in each out-
side row and one in the center. It is in the Milwaukee Public
Museum. Locality, Wisconsin.
Another spear head in the same institution is 4 inches long
and has beveled edges. It is decorated with three rectangular
indentures in three rows, one in each row. In this case, each
row is represented by a single indenture. Locality, Wisconsin.
A spear head about 6 inches long is decorated with eight
oval indentures arranged in three rows, three in each outside
row, and two in the center. It is in the Paul Scholz collection,
Town of Greenfield, and comes from Reeseville, Dodge County.
A spear head 5!/2 inches long is decorated with eight oval
indentures in three rows, three in each outside row, and two
in the center. It is in the F. S. Perkins collection in the U. S.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 63
National Museum. Locality, Farmingtoii Township, Washing-
ton County.
In Fig. 1, "b" is shown the decoration on a spearhead 5%
inches long. The nail hole in the socket of this specimen is
partly corroded away- The decoration consists of eleven rec-
tangular indentures arranged in three rows, four indentures
in each outside row, and three in the center. It is in the A. D.
Grutzmacher collection at Mukwonago. Locality, Wisconsin.
Fig. 1, "d 1 ' shows the decoration on a spear head 6% inches
long with seventeen indentures arranged in three rows, seven
indentures in each outside row, and three in the center. The
indentures are somewhat irregular in shape as well as in spac-
ing. It is in the P. C. Schupp collection at Chicago. Locality,
Antigo, Langlade County.
A spear head in the Neville Public Museum at Green Bay is,
at present, 5~y inches long but was originally longer as the
point is broken away and the base of the socket is irregular
from corrosion. Originally, there was probably a nail hole in
the socket which has disappeared. It has ten square indentures
arranged in three rows, four indentures in each outside row,,
and two in the center. It is from Norway Township, Dickinson
County, Michigan. It is the only specimen of this class re-
ported from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
A spear head 4y 2 inches long, decorated with five rectan-
gular indentures is in the Pickett collection in the Oshkosh
Public Museum. The indentures, a little more than % inch
long and about 1/16 inch wide, are arranged in three rows,
two in each outside row and one in the center. Locality, Win-
nebago County.
In Fig. 1, "e" is shown the decoration 011 a spear head 4%
inches long. This spear head has a flat tang, an unusual fea-
ture for ornamented spear heads. The decoration consists of
four quite large circular indentures arranged in three rows, one
indenture in each outside row and two in the center, a reversal
of the usual order. It is in the Boudeman collection. Locality,
Sauk County.
64 WISCONSIN ARCHEQLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
In the same collection is a spear head 4^4 inches long with
five rectangular indentures arranged in three rows, two in
each outside row and one in the center. Locality, Barron Coun-
ty.
Another spear head in the Boudeman collection is 3% inches
long and has six rectangular indentures arranged in three
rows of two indentures in each row. Locality, Washington
County.
Another spear head in the same collection is 3% inches long
with part of the nail hole corroded away. It has eight rec-
tangular indentures in three rows, three in each outside row,
and two in the center. Locality, Barron County.
A spear head in my collection is 5% inches long and has
six rectangular indentures in three rows of two indentures to
each row. Locality, Saukville, Ozaukee County.
Another spear head in my collection is 6 3/16 inches long
and probably had a nail hole in the socket which has corroded
away. It has eleven square indentures in three rows, four in
each outside row, and three in the center row- It is stated to
have been found at Leech Lake, Cass County, Minn. This is
the only specimen recorded from Minnesota.
A spear head 5 5/16 inches long has beveled edges and the
back is decorated with three oval indentures in three rows,
one to each row. This specimen is also in my collection. Lo-
cality, West Bend, Washington County.
Notwithstanding their common occurrence, few knives of
the type with flat pointed tang have been found bearing dec-
oration of any kind. One has already been described among
specimens ornamented in a unique or special manner. Another
is in the Boudeman collection. It is 8% inches long and has
eleven circular indentures arranged in three rows, four in
each outside row, and three in the center. The decoration is
on the left side of the blade. Locality, Dunn County.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 65
A sketch of another is given in Copper Implements of Wis-
consin. * The sketch shows ten oval indentures arranged in
three rows, four in each outside row, and two in the center.
As usual, the decoration is on the left side of the blade. Lo-
cality, Cato, Manitowoc County.
Fig. 1, "f " shows the figure on a spear head in the State His-
torical Museum, Hamilton collection. It is 4% inches long
and one side of the nail hole in the socket is corroded away.
It has fourteen oval indentures in three rows, six in each out-
side row, and two in the center row- The center row is divided,
the first indenture of this row being in line between the first
two indentures of the outside rows. Locality, Adams County.
In Fig. 1, "g" is shown the figure on another spear head in
the same collection. It is 4V2 inches long and much corroded.
The figure consists of fourteen very small circular indentures
arranged in three rows, four indentures in each outside row,
and six in the center row, all three rows being concurrent.
Locality, Waushara County.
In Fig. 1, "h" is shown the figure on a rolled socketted
knife in the Oshkosh Public Museum. The knife is 5% inches
long and the left side of the blade is decorated with nine rec-
tangular indentures arranged in three rows, three indentures
in each row. In this case, the indentures of the center row alter-
nate with those of the outside rows. Locality, Winnebago
County.
A spear head 6% inches long with a broad blade and rolled
socket with no nail hole has a similar arrangement of inden-
tures. This specimen has only eight indentures, lacking the
last indenture in the center row shown in Fig. 1, "h" Locality,
Fremont, Waupaca County.
In Fig. 1, "i" is shown the figure on a spear head 5% inches
long, which is decorated with ten rectangular indentures in
three rows, three in each outside row, and four in the center
* Copper Implements of Wisconsin, by Charles E. Brown, Wisconsin
Archeologist, Vol. 3, No. 2 January, 1904.
66 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
row, the center row being divided with two indentures at
each end of the figure. It is in the U- S. National Museum, F.
S Perkins collection. Locality, Fond du Lac County.
In Plate 2, Fig 9, is shown the outline of a dagger shaped
implement 8!/4 inches long. One side is decorated with eight
elongated indentures arranged in three rows similar to the
last described. Here, however, are three indentures in each
outside row, and only two in the center row, one at each end
of the figure. The indentures on this specimen are so narrow
that they could easily be overlooked.* It is in the Milwaukee
Public Museum. Locality, Wisconsin.
In Plate 2, Fig. 7, is shown the outline of a knife 6% inches
long, the left side of the blade being decorated with twelve
rectangular indentures arranged in three rows, four inden-
ures to each row. It is in the Grutzmacher collection and was
found one mile west of Gresham, Herman Township, Shawano
County.
In Fig. 1, "j" is shown the figure on a spear head in the U. S.
National Museum, F. S- Perkins collection. The spear head
is 5 inches long and is decorated with sixteen square inden-
tures arranged in three rows, five indentures in one outside
row, three in the other, and eight in the center row, thus being
numerically asymmetric. This is one of only two specimens
reported, decorated with three rows of indentures of which
the two outside rows are not numerically equal. It was found
l 1 /^ mile east of Richland City, Richland County.
* Whatever the main purpose of these indentures may have been, one
purpose must certainly have been to be visible. However, the indentures
on this piece are so narrow that they could never have been easily dis-
cernable in the hands of another. If the indentures were filled with paint
or pigment of a color contrasting to the color of the copper, they would
appear much more prominent. As a digression, it may be remarked that
many fluted stone axes have the flutes so shallow as to 'be found only by
the sharpest scrutiny. If the flutes were painted, the shallow ones would
show as plainly as the deep ones. An objection to this suggestion is that
none have been found bearing a trace of paint. However, all fluted axes
found to date appear to be surface finds, and ai painted article lost on
the surface of the ground would have ample time to lose the paint by
action of tlhe weather before it became covered with soil sufficient to
protect it from the elements.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 67
Spear heads and Knives Ornamented with two equal
rozvs of indentures.
In Plate 1, Fig. 4, is shown a spear head in the Milwaukee
Public Museum as are the three following. The specimen
illustrated is 6 15/16 inches long and is decorated with eight
rectangular indentures arranged in two longitudinal rows of
four indentures each. It was found at Nenno, Washington
County.
In Fig. 1, "k" is shown the figure 011 the face of a spear head
4% inches long, with rolled socket but no nail hole, the nail
hole being probably corroded away. It has eight elongate in-
cisions arranged in two rows of four each. Locality, Wisconsin.
Another spear head is 3% inches long. The nail hole in the
socket is evidently corroded away. It has six rectangular in-
dentures in two rows, three indentures in each row. Locality.
Wisconsin.
A spear head, much corroded, with part of the nail hole
gone is 3% inches long and is ornamented with four rectangu-
lar indentures arranged in two rows of two indentures each.
Locality, Adell, Sheboygan County.
The Boudeman collection contains a spear head 3% inches
long with rolled socket but no nail hole. It is decorated with
six indentures in two rows, three in each row- Locality, Dodge
County.
In the Grutzmacher collection is a spear head 3% inches
long, decorated with six incisions each about % inch long.
The incisions are arranged in two rows of three incisions in
each row. Locality, Wisconsin.
In the same collection is a spear head 5% inches long, the
face being decorated with ten small circular indentures. The
indentures are arranged in two rows of five indentures in each
row. Locality, Wisconsin.
68 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
On a spear head 3 9/16 inches long, the face is decorated
with six circular indentures in two rows. In this case, the
indentures are larger, a little more than 1 1/16 inch in dia-
meter. It is in the Neville Public Museum at Green Bay. Lo-
cality, Beaver Dam, Dodge County
In the Dr. Busko collection, formerly at West Bend, was a
spear head about 4 l / 2 inches long, decorated with four inden-
tures in two rows of two indentures each. In this case, two of
the indentures were near the base of the blade, while the other
two were about an inch from the point. The Rusko collection
was made mostly in the vicinity of West Bend and this speci-
men was probably found near there.
Knives and Spear Heads Ornamented with Two Unequal
Rows of Indentures.
A very few rolled socketted copper knives and spear heads
are decorated on the face with two rows of indentures numer-
ically unequal. In the case of knives, the longer row is nearest
the back and parallel to it. As the face of the blade, the side
toward which the sides of the socket are bent, is usually the
left side, the back of the blade is at the right and the longer
row of indentures is the one at the right. For some reason, the
longer row of indentures on the few spear heads so ornamented
is also the one at the right.
In Plate 1, Pig. 5, is shown a spear head 5 l /2 inches long. The
face is decorated with seven rectangular indentures in two
parallel rows, four in the right hand row, and three in the
left hand row. It is in the Milwaukee Public Museum and was
found near Brotherton, Calumet County.
Fig. 1, "i" shows the design on a spear head in the John Guid-
inger collection in the Town of Granville. This spear head is
5*4 inches long with rolled socket and rectangular nail hole,
an unusual feature. It bears on its face five circular inden-
tures in two rows, three in the right hand row and two in the
left hand row. Locality, Newberg, Washington County.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 69
A spear head in my collection is 5 13/16 inches long and
bears on its face eight oval indentures arranged in two rows,
five indentures in the right hand row and three in the left
hand row. It was probably found in Lisbon Township, Wauke-
sha County.
Brown* shows the outline of a specimen 4 inches long, with
part of the nail hole corroded away. It has seven indentures
in two rows, four in the right hand row, and three in the left
hand row. Locality, Rapids, Manitowoc County.
In Plate 2, Fig. 8, is shown the outline of a copper knife in
the Henry Rademaker, Jr., collection at Milwaukee. It is 4%
inches long and is decorated with four circular indentures,
three in the right hand row near the back of the blade and one
representing the left hand row. It was found in Wagner Town-
ship near Lake Mary, Marinette County.
Most knives with rolled sockets are so made that, when the
knife is held with cutting edge downward and point away
from the holder, the opening between the two sides of the
socket is on the left side of the knife. Two specimens are
known, however, with the sides of the socket bent in the oppo-
site direction.
One of these knives is in the Milwaukee Public Museum. It
is 7 3/16 inches long, socket rolled to right with circular nail
hole, and is ornamented on the face (right side) of the blade
with twelve square indentures arranged in two rows of seven
indentures in one row and five in the other. The longer row is,
as usual, near the back and parallel to it, which in this case,
makes it the left hand row. Locality, Merton, Waukesha
County.
A similar knife is in the State Historical Museum. It is 5%
inches long and resembles the preceeding in having the socket
rolled to the right with circular nail hole. It is decorated
with seven elongated indentures arranged in two rows, four at
the left next the back and three in the right hand row. Lo-
cality, Lake Geneva, Walworth County.
* Copper Implements of Wisconsin.
70 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
Spear Heads and Knives with a Single Row of Indentures
In Plate 1, Fig. 6, is shown a spear head 4 3/16 inches long
which is decorated with a single row of four square inden-
tures. It is from Hartford, Washington County, and is in the
Milwaukee Public Museum as 'are the three following.
In Plate 2, Fig. 4, is shown the outline of a spear head 3%
inches long, with an irregular row of five circular indentures.
Some of the indentures are more than % inch in diameter. Lo-
cality, Sussex, Waukesha County.
In Fig. 1, "m'' is shown a row of eight circular indentures
like that on a spear head at present 7 7/16 inches long. The
point of the blade is missing. It will be noted that the two in-
dentures at each end are smaller than the others. Locality, Red
Springs, Shawano County.
A spear head 3% inches long, has a short row of two small
circular indentures on its face. Locality, Addison, Washing-
ton County.
A spear head in the State Historical Museum is four inches
long and is decorated with a single small circular indenture at
the center of the blade. Locality, Concord, Jefferson County.
A spear head 3 13/16 inches long has a row of six square
indentures. It is in the State Historical Museum, Hamilton
collection. Locality, West Menasha, Winnebago County.
Another spear head in the same collection is 6% inches long
and has a row of eight transverse incised lines of an average
length of nearly y% inch. The lines average nearly l / 2 inch
apart Locality, Richfield, Washington County.
The three following specimens are all in the Oshkosh Public
Museum and all are from Winnebago County.
A spear head 3*4 inches long with nail still in the socket
has a row of three rectangular indentures, each about 14 inch
in length.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 71
Another spear head is 3 5/16 inches long with three trans-
verse incisions irregularly spaced, the first and second in-
cisions being about % i ncn apart, while the second and third
are about !/2 inch apart. This specimen is in the Kannenberg
collection.
Another spear head in the Kannenberg collection is 4 1/16
inches long and has three rectangular indentures in a row,
each indenture being about ^4 inch long.
A spear head in the National Museum, F. S- Perkins collec-
tion, is four inches long and has a row of six rectangular in-
dentures irregularly spaced. The indentures vary in length
from y 8 to y inch. Locality, Fulton, Rock County.
A spear head in the Schupp collection, 5 7/16 inches long
with rolled socket but no nail hole, has a row of six oval
indentures. Locality, Viroqua, Vernon County.
Another spear head in the Schupp collection is 5*4 inches
long. This specimen is decorated with a row of eight inden-
tures of which the first seven are rectangular and spaced an
average of % inch apart, while the eighth indenture is cir-
cular and % inch from the last rectangular one and % inch
from the point of the blade. Locality, Waushara County.
A spear head in the Boudeman collection is 4% inches long
and has part of the nail hole corroded away. It has a row of
seven circular indentures, each rather more than 1/16 inch in
diameter. Locality, Washington County.
A spear head in my collection is, at present, 8% inches long.
It is so much corroded that little can be said of its original
size and shape, except that it had a rolled socket with nail
hole. At present, one side of the socket and part of the other
are gone and a notch at the base of the socket is all that repre-
sents the nail hole. Both edges and the point of the blade
are gone, leaving the blade shapeless. On the face of the
blade can be seen a row of Thirteen indentures extending
72 WISCONSIN AECHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
from the base of the blade toward the point, spaced about
!/ inch apart. Due to corrosion, most of the indentures appear
as mere elevated blotches of an oval shape. Locality, Stevens
Point, Portage County.
In the State Historical Museum, Hamilton collection, is a
slender spear head 7 1 /! inches long with rolled socket and nail
hole. It has no shoulders or barbs but tapers evenly from the
base of the socket to near the point of the blade. On its face
is a row of nine transverse incisions which extends from near
the opening in the socket and spaced a little less than y inch
apart. Locality, Two Rivers, Manitowoc County.
In the Gerend collection at Sheboygan was formerly a spear
of the ridge-backed type, 7% inches long with a series of nine
transverse incised lines on the back of the blade. According
to a sketch sent me by the late Dr. Alphonse Gerend, M. 1)., the
incised lines extended nearly the whole width of the blade.
The first eight lines were quite regularly spaced, 5/16 to %
inch apart, while the ninth was removed from its neighbor by
nearly an inch. This is one of only two decorated spear heads
of the ridge-backed type which have so far come to notice. It
was found in Section 20, Sheboygan Township, Sheboygan
County.
In the George Overton collection at Winneconne, is a frag-
ment two inches long from the end of a copper knife blade.
The large end of the fragment, next to the break, is !/2 i ncn
wide. The right side of the fragment has a row of six cir-
cular indentures so spaced as to occupy the whole length of the
fragment to within 5/16 inch from the point. It was found on
north shore of Lake Winneconne, Section 32, Township 20,
Winnebago County.
A sketch drawn from memory by Charles V. Fuller of
Grand Ledge, Michigan, shows a knife about 8 inches long
with a flat tang. On the right face, is a row of thirteen cir-
cular indentures very near the back of the blade and parallel
to it and extending nearly its entire length. Its present
whereabouts is not known. It is said to have been found in
Eagle Township, Clinton County, Michigan.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 73
In the Milwaukee Public Museum is a harpoon 5 5/16 inches
long with rolled socket and nail hole. It has on its face, a
londitudinal row of three small circular indentures spaced
about 3/16 inch apart, the row of indentures being between
the socket and the barb. Locality, Hartford, Washington
County.
Spear Heads and Knives Decorated on Both Sides
Several specimens have been found which bear a conven-
tional figure on both sides of the blade.
In Plate 2, Fig. 10, is shown the outline of a spear head 3%
inches long which has a flat tang. Both of its sides are decora-
ted in the same manner, eight elongate indentures arranged
in two longitudinal rows of four indentures in each row. This
spear head is unique among implements in having the same
figure on each side. It is in the Milwaukee Public Museum and
was found near Milford, Jefferson County.
A spear head 3 3/16 inches long has a rolled socket with no
nail hole. It is decorated on the face with row of three cir-
cular indentures beginning near the base of the blade and
spaced about 3/16 inch apart. The back is decorated with a
row of seven circular indentures. In this row, the first five
indentures are spaced about 3/16 inch apart, then an interval
of 5/16 inch, and behind that the other two indentures also
3/16 inch apart. This specimen is also in the Milwaukee Public
Museum. Locality, Manitowoc County.
A spear head 3% inches long is decorated on the face with
seven square indentures in three rows, three indentures in
each outside row, and one in the center (Fig. 1, "a-e"). The
back of this specimen has a single row of four square inden-
tures. It is in the Neville Public Museum at Green Bay and
was found at Wausaukee, Marinette County.
That these ornamented spear heads were not mere "ceremon-
ials" but implements of utility is shown, by the fact that sev-
eral are bent or show other evidence of hard usage. One has
74 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23. No. 3
had nearly the entire socket broken or wrenched away leav-
ing just enough of the socket to indicate which side is the face
and which the back. The blade is about S 1 /^ inches in length.
The face of the blade is ornamented with seven small circular
indentures arranged in three rows, two in each outside row
and three in the center row. (Fig. l/'a-e"). The back has also
seven small circular indentures in three rows. On the back,
however, the arangement is similar to Fig. 1, "i"; two inden-
tures in each outside row, two in the center ahead of the out-
side rows, and one in the center row behind the outside rows.
This specimen is in the Guidinger collection and was found
near Newberg, Washington County.
In the former Frank Mueller collection at Princeton was a
decorated copper knife. A sketch of the knife, drawn from
memory by Mr. Mueller shows a knife four inches long having
a flat tang and decorated with a single row of seven circular
indentures on the left side of the blade. West* mentions this
knife and states that <k lt has eight deep circular indentures
on one side and ten or twelve on the opposite side". It was
found three miles north of Neshkoro, Marquette County.
Copper knives of the type known as " handled knives'' are
rare and there seem to be almost as many varieties of the type
as there are specimens. It is seldom that one is seen that
bears any resemblance to any other except the extension
of metal which forms the handle. However, in the Milwaukee
Public Museum are two of this type which, except for a differ-
ence in size, are very similar-
A sketch of one of these knives is shown in Plate 2, Fig. 6.
It is 7% inches long. The end of the handle is angular and has
an enlargement to aid the user in securing a firm grip. This
knife is decorated on the left side of the blade with eight
elongate indentures arranged in three rows; three indentures
in each outside row and two in the center (Fig. 1, "a-e"). The
riirht side of the blade is decorated with a row of four elon-
gate indentures. Locality, West Kewaunee, Kewaunee County.
* Copper; It Mining and Use by the Ajborigines of the l>ake Superior
Krizion. !.\ (i.M.r-c A. \\Vst. Milwaukee Public Museum Bullrtiii. Vol. 10,
No. 1.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 75
The other knife mentioned as being similar to the one just
described is 10 inches long. Like the last described, it has
an enlargement at the end of the handle, but lacks the angu-
lar projection. It also has a row of four elongate indentures
one the right side of the blade. The left side of the blade has
six elongate indentures arranged in three rows similar to Fig.
1, "1", two indentures in each outside row and two in the cen-
ter row, one beyond the heel of the blade and the other nearly
an inch from the point. Locality, Wayne, Washington County.
The outline of a very interesting handled knife is shown in
Plate 2, Fig. 12. It is 12% inches long, with the edge beveled,
and has an enlargment at the end of the handle. Just at the
beginning of the enlargement on the handle is a small groove
or notch. On the right side and just beyond the heel of the
blade are six elongate indentures arranged in two parallel
longitudinal rows, three indentures in each row. One row is
about i/4 inch from the back of the blade and parallel to it.
The other row is about the center of the blade- The left side
of the blade is decorated with seventeen elongate indentures
arranged in three rows. Unlike the decoration on specimens
already described, these rows of indentures were apparently
made, each independantly without regard to the position of
the others. The longest row r of nine indentures extends from
about an inch from the base of the blade to about an inch
from the point. This row of indentures is parallel to the back
and about x /4 inch from it. The second row of five indentures
is near the edge of the blade and parallel to it and starts from
the heel of the blade. The third row of indentures starts at
the back of the blade, the first indenture being nearly opposite
to the first indenture of the second row, and extends somewhat
diagonally away from the back, the last indenture being close
to the first indenture of the first row. It is in the Byron Knob-
lock collection at LaGrange. 111., and was found near Wood-
worth Lake, Mecosta County, Michigan.
Scattered reports of a few other ornamented coppers may
be found among various reports, etc., on Wisconsin archeology;
which are too vague and indefinite to be of any use and in fact,
76 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
may well be ignored because of possible duplication of enum-
eration and description. As an example, in Summary of the
Archeology of Winnebago County,* it is stated that " a soc-
ketted copper spear point having the surface of the blade orna-
mented with small regular indentation was found in the N. E.
!/4 of Section 3, Menasha Township, Winnebago County. It is
quite possible that this spear point is one of those described
as being in the Oshkosh Public Museum.
It is not claimed that the foregoing is a complete list of all
ornamented coppers known, but it is large enough to furnish
sufficient data for whatever conclusions may be drawn from
from this class of artifacts.
DISTRIBUTION
Washington County, where sixteen ornamented coppers are
known to have been found, appears to be the center of their
distribution. The neighboring counties of Waukesha, Jeffer-
son, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and Win-
nebago have produced from two to five each. The area em-
braced in these eight counties has produced about one half
the total number known. Marinette county, separated from
this area by counties which have produced few or no speci-
mens, has produced four specimens- Calumet county has pro-
duced three. The remaining specimens have been widely dis-
tributed over the state, not more than two having been re-
ported from any county. The producing area reaches Cass
County, Minnesota, en the west, and Dickinson County, Mich-
igan, on the north. Incomplete records from lower Michigan
show two specimens but none appear to have been in Illinois or
Iowa
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ORNAMENTATION
It will be noted that the indentures of whatever size or
shape are always arranged in straight longitudinal rows, which
if there are two or three rows, are necessarily parallel. The
* Summary of the Archeology of Winnebago County, by Publius V. Law son.
Wisconsin Archeologist, Vol. 2, No. 3.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 77
indentures, if they are oval, always have their long axis across
the blade of the implement. The same is true of rectangular
indentures or incised lines. The workmanship shown in mak-
ing the decoration is crude. The straight parallel lines are
frequently neither very straight nor very parallel. The
transverse cuts often Jack somewhat of being square across
the blade of the implement. One significant fact, however, is
apparent on all specimens having two or three rows of inden-
tures. They are arranged according to a strict conventional
rule which is always observed. Where the figure on a spear
head or knife is composed of three rows of indentures, it is
always numerically perfectly balanced, having the same num-
ber of indentures in each of the two outside rows. Where the
figure is composed of two rows of indentures, the two rows are
each composed of an equal number of indentures, with the few
exceptions mentioned, and they also are made according to
rule. The longer row is always nearest the back of the blade
if it be a knife and as the decoration on a knife is usually on
the left side of the blade, this makes the longer row usually at
the right hand. On the few spear heads so decorated, the
longer row is always at the right.
Two exceptions to this rule have been shown; one in Fig. 1,
"j" where the indentures are arranged in three rows probably
intented to be parallel. In this case, there are eight indentures
in the center row and eight in the two outside rows combined-
The left outside row, however, has five indentures while the
right hand row has only three. If the first indenture of the
left hand row were to be transferred over to .become the last
indenture of the right hand row, there would be four inden-
tures in each outside row and the figure would be numerically
symmetrical. In view of the fact that this is a single exception
in a quite large list, it seems that this may probably be the
result of a mistake on the part of the maker. The other speci-
men mentioned as being asymmetrically ornamented, the han-
dled knife shown in Plate 2, Fig. 12, was found in Mecosta
County, Mich. Whether it was made near the locality where it
was found or is a stray from Wisconsin, the decoration on the
right side of the blade appears to align it with Wisconsin
78 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
ornamented coppers. It seems possible that the indentures on
the left side of the blade were made by some one imperfectly
informed as to their meaning or proper arrangement.
As these implements, together with their indentures, are
clearly prehistoric, it is useless to seek any information re-
garding them from the modern Indians.
Various theories have been advanced regarding the meaning
or use of the various indentures and incisions ;
They have been said to be marks of ownership. Fig. 2 is
from Pre-historic Times* by Sir John Lubbock and shows the
marks on arrows of the early Iron Age found in the peat bogs
of Sleswyck, and called by Lubbock "owner's marks". It
will be noticed that these marks are not only simple indentures
like those found on Indian implements, but they are few in
number and arranged in a compact figure such as might be
expected in owner's marks. Only a few of the Indian imple-
ments described bear figures comparable to them and they are
not those that best show the characteristic features of the ser-
ies.
They have also been said to be maker's marks, analogous to
the maker's marks seen on fine pottery, etc., but the objection
is much the same as that to owner's marks. The marks of the
maker on pottery are always few and simple; a line, an initial,
seldom more. It is true that there are certain specimens which
seem to bear out the theory that some of the indentures are
maker's marks or perhaps marks of ownership. Two handled
knives in the Milwaukee Public Museum have already been
described, which are so nearly alike in shape as to suggest
the work of a single workman, and each of these is marked on
the right side of the blade with a row of four indentures-
These indentures might be the marks of the maker or owner
but that would not explain the figure on the opposite side of
the blade.
Pre-historic Times, as illustrated by Ancient Remains and the Manners
and Customs of Modern Savages. Sir John Lubbock, 1865.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 79
The indentures have been said to be for decoration only.
The pendant shown in Plate 1, Fig. 1, bears a figure which is
probably decorative only. A few other special figures may be
decorative only but simple decoration hardly explains the
conventional figure.
They have been called "poison cavities". Some Indians are
known to have poisoned the heads of their arrows, but inden-
tures of any kind were not necessary for that and, if neces-
sary, they would not be carefully arranged in regular order.
It has been said that they are indentures punched across a
seam in the metal to bind it together. If that were true, we
should find the indentures along seams and nowhere else, but
we find the indentures placed with no regard for the seams in
the metal.
Finally, the most common theory seems to be that they are
"tally marks". Tally marks are marks placed on some object
to serve as a record of a number of events that have trans-
pired. A person keeping a tally usually does so by a series of
marks made one at a time, each to record a certain event. Will-
oughby, Antiquities of the New England Indians, shows the fig-
ure of a flat bone spear head, stemmed and barbed, about six
inches long which has a series of twenty-nine transverse in-
cised lines on one face. It was found in a Maine shell heap.
The marks on this spear head could well have been a tally.
Although there in no probable connection between this bone
spear head and decorated copper spear heads from Wisconsin,
some of the single rows of indentures on Wisconsin spear
heads may have been simple tally records. However, this does
not apply to the figures on Wisconsin coppers which are com-
posed of two or three rows of indentures arranged in numer-
ically symmetrical order. If these indentures had been made
one at a time to record some event, some would necessarily be
found numerically asymmetric. Thus it would seem that they
are not tally marks in the ordinary sense, that is put on one
at a time, each immediately after the event it commemorated.
However, the indentures are on the implements which bear
them, and for some purpose; and the only evidence we have
80 WISCONSIN ARCHEQLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
regarding that purpose is that furnished by the indentures
themselves. Perhaps the most reasonable hypothesis regarding
their use is that they are actual tally marks, not put on one at
a time to commemorate a certain event, but put on several at
a time in a manner to preserve numerical symmetry and to
record an accumlated number of events- This is suggested by
the location of indentures on several specimens. For ex-
ample, Fig. 1, "b" shows a figure of eleven indentures in three
rows of four in each outside row and three in the center row.
According to the manner in which the indentures are spaced,
they seem to be in three groups of four in the first group near
the base of the blade, four in the second group, and three in
the last group. The first and second groups are separated by
wider spacing. If these indentures were made at intervals,
one group at a time, after the first group was made, there was
a two row figure which is duplicated on several specimens
which have been shown. The same is true after the second
group was added. After the third group was made, there is the
three row figure, of which many examples have been described.
In Fig. 1, "in" it will be seen that the four circular indentures
at the center of the figure are uniformly larger than the two
at each end, which seems to indicate that they were possibly
made by a different tool and at a different time. Mention
has been made of similar peculiarities in the figure on several
specimens.
If this hypothesis be correct, it naturally leads to one con-
clusion. The indentures were made on the various implements
in accordance with a rule clearly understood and implicitly
obeyed. There was no authority among the Indians which
would have promulgated such a rule or could have enforced it.
The alternative is that the rule was made by those who used
the marks and they were probably members of one of the
numerous societies known or supposed to have existed among
the pre-historic Indians as well as among their descendants of
the historic period. Thus it could well be that at certain meet-
ings of the society, each candidate for advancement could have
a certain number of indentures stamped on his spear head or
knife in addition to those he already had, according to the
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 81
number of successful events in which he had participated,
until his goal was reached. It is likely that whatever the
primary meaning of the marks, a certain amount of magic was
connected with it.
At what period of time these artifacts were produced, we
have only the evidence furnished by the specimens themselves
and that evidence consists mainly in the extent to which they
are corroded. As a class, they seem to show a greater amount
of corrosion than the average of implements of the same type
which bear no marks. Several have been mentioned which
have part of the socket wasted away to such an extent that
there is only a notch in the base of the socket where the nail
hole should be and on several specimens the blade is so much
corroded that some of the indentures can scarcely be seen.
A point of interest is that only certain types and varieties of
copper implements are ornamented- In The Native Copper
Implements of Wisconsin, Brown says in regard to rolled
socketted spear heads :
"At least two well defined forms of these points may be
recognized :
"1. The first of these is provided with a short, broad oval
or almond-shaped blade. The stem and socket in this form
is usually broadest at the base, tapering or narrowing toward
the blade
"2. The second form is furnished with a long narrow lance-
olate blade, often twice or more than twice as long as the stem.
The socket and stem rarely taper upward and are of more
nearly equal width throughout "
A majority of all decorated coppers found are rolled socket-
ted spear heads of form 2 quoted above. None of form 1 seem
to have been found decorated. From this, it would seem that
the two varieties of this type are not contemporary ; at least
not made by the same people.
82 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
Of the type known as the ridged or bayonet-backed spear
head, only two examples are known, both of which have al-
ready been described. Being so few, it seems possible that
their indentures were not made by the makers of the spear
heads, but by later men who found and decorated them after
they had been lost by their original owners. A corollary of
that would be that the ridge-backed spear head is of higher
antiquity than the decorated rolled socketted spear head.
Very few copper spear heads and knives of the flat-tanged
type have been found bearing indentures.
Of the types of spear heads described by Brown as leaf-
shaped points, eyed points, notched points, toothed points
(with notched tang), spatula shaped points (rattail), short
stemmed, barbed, or conical points, none have been found with
indentures.
Of the type of copper knives having a rolled socket, there
are at least three varieties of which the largest varies in length
from about ten inches to thirteen inches or more. Its socket
is very short in comparison to the length of the blade and has
no nail hole. The back of the blade and adjacent side of the
socket are in a continuous straight or nearly straight line.
Another variety of the same type is much smaller, and the
socket is longer in proportion to the blade and usually has
a square or rectangular nail hole. The back of the blade and
side of the socket are also in line. The third variety has a
socket and two shoulders similar to a rolled socketted spear
head, one of the shoulders being the heel of the blade. The
socket, of this variety, has a circular nail hole. The principal
difference between a knife of this variety and a socketted
spear head is in the shape of the blade (Plate 2, Figs- 7, 8).
Only the last mentioned variety of socketted copper knife
has been found bearing indentures or ornamentation of any
kind.
No copper axes or celts with decoration of any kind seem
to have been found in Wisconsin.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 83
One copper spud with incised lines has been described. A
ridge-backed spud having the back fluted was found near
Palmyra, Jefferson County, and is in the Ringeisen collection.
An interesting copper plate is described by Warren and, be-
cause of the peculiar character of the plate, Warren's descrip-
tion will be quoted literally.*
"The Cranes claim the honor of first having pitched their
wigwams, and lighted the fire of the Ojibways at Shaug-ah-
waum-ik-ong, a sand point or peninsula lying two miles im-
mediately opposite the Island of La Pointe.
"To support their pretensions, this family (of the Crane)
held in their possession a circular plate of virgin copper, on
which is rudely marked indentations and hieroglyphics deno-
ting the number of generations of the family who have passed
away since they first pitched their lodges at Shaug-ah-waum-
ik-ong and took possession of the adjacent country, including
the Island of La Pointe or Mo-ning-wun-a-kaun-ing.
"When I witnessed this curious family register in 1842, it
was exhibited by Tug-waug-aun-ay to my father. The old chief
kept it carefully buried in the ground, and seldom displayed
it. On this occasion he only brought it to view at the entreaty
of my mother, whose maternal uncle he was. Father, mother,,
and the old chief, have all since gone to the land; of spirits,
and I am the only one still living who witnessed, on that
occasion this sacred relic of former days.
"On this plate of copper was marked eight deep indentions,
denoting the number of his ancestors who had passed away
since they first lighted their fire at Shaug-ah-waum-ik-ong.
They had all lived to a good old age.
"By the rude figure of a man with a hat on its head, placed
opposite one of these indentions, was denoted the period when
the white race first made his appearance among them. This
* History of the Ojibways by William W. Warren. Collections of the
Minnesota Historical Society, Vol. 5.
84 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
mark occurred in the third generation, leaving five genera-
tions which had passed away since that important era in their
history "
From the marks on the copper plate, Warren placed the
arrival of the Ojibways at about 1490. His narrative is inter-
esting and accepted as authentic, but the plate seems to have
no counterpart in Wisconsin Archeology. It is suggestive
rather of the Walam Olum or the Dakots winter counts.
In the states east and south of Michigan, a very few orna-
mented copper implements have been found which are of in-
terest to Wisconsin students mainly by their dissimilarity to
those of Wisconsin-
One of these is a spear head, a photograph of which is
shown by Moorehead in The Stone Age. It was found near
Penn Yan, N. Y. The photograph shows a spear head of the
flat tanged type, about 3% inches long, ornamented on one
face with a longitudinal row of twelve transverse incised lines
extending the whole length of the blade from its base to
about % inch from the point. The shape of the spear head is
not like that of the ornamented spear heads of Wisconsin. It
is a unique specimen, probably analogous to a bone spear head
already mentioned as having been found in a Maine shell heap.
In the American Archeologist for October, 1898, Leslie W.
Hills has a photograph and description of the contents of a
grave in Allen County, Indiana.
The specimens shown in the photograph consist of a bird-
stone with protruding eyes, a pottery tube, a copper axe, a
rectangular stone with a groove extending lengthwise, and an
arrowhead. The axe was about 4 inches long, 2 inches wide at
the cutting edge, and % inch wide at the poll, with concave
sides. Mr. Hills states that "the side exposed has marking or
date marks of little dots". The marks appear to be rectangu-
lar indentures arranged in four rows across the blade of the
axe.
Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area 85
In a chapter for MooreheacTs Prehistoric Implements, A. F.
Berlin says ; ' ' One of the finest celts or chisels ever handled by
the writer, and there is nowhere, in any collection, either
public or private, one to excel it ; was found in 1810 on Cham-
bers Island, in the Delaware Kiver four miles above the Dela-
ware Water Gap. With it were obtained, at the same time,
beads and other small objects ; perhaps the contents of a grave.
It is 3% inches long and 1% wide at its top, and gradually in-
creases in breadth to its cutting edge where it measures 2
inches. At the top is also its thickest part. Here it measures
7/16 of an inch, and tapers down equally on both sides to its
cutting edge- It weighs 9 ounces. A quarter of an inch above
its cutting edge, on each of its four angles, are cut, on one
side, 11 notches and on the opposite angles 12. Whether these
notches were cut into the celt to add to its beauty or to
commemorate some event is impossible to tell. It still shows
marks of hammering and is in perfect condition".
86 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 3
LOUISE PHELPS KELLOGG
Charles E. Brown
Louise Phelps Kellogg, a greatly valued member of The
Wisconsin Archeological Society, died at Madison, Wisconsin,
on Saturday, July 11, 1942. Dr. Kellogg became a member of
the state society in the year 1912. In the succeeding years
she served as a member of some of its standing committees,
was the speaker at considerable number of its meetings and
field meetings, and contributed a number of interesting papers
to the quarterly issues of The Wisconsin Archeologist. For
many years she ably assisted Director Charles E. Brown in
conducting the annual Lake Mendota Historical Steamer Ex-
cursions of the summer session of the University of Wisconsin.
Her interest in the progress of archeological research in Wis-
consin, in the preservation and marking of its prehistoric
Indian earthworks and other remains, and in the creation of
new museums to conserve its archeological and historical
treasures was enthusiastic and helpful. The Wisconsin Arch-
eological Society greatly mourns the loss of so greatly be-
loved and valuable a member.
"There is something more than a sense of the loss of a per-
son, beloved, admired, honored and valued though that person
was. in the death of Louise Phelps Kellogg.
She was more than a person, more than the distinguished
scholar which she was rightly acclaimed.
To the field of history, letters, and learning she was a famed
name, a figure of authority. But to Wisconsin, to Madison,
and the the university she was a revered institution, one of the
good and great and significant things which have given us
the mark of which we are proud.
She had been in and a part of Madison since she entered
the University of Wisconsin in 1894. She had been so much
of so many years that her going now is like the passing of a
venerable landmark, rich in memories, precious in symbolism
of good things and great accomplishment."
Born in Milwaukee, the daughter of Amherst Willoughby
Kellogg and Mary Isabella Phelps Kellogg, she had been a
Louise Phelps Kellogg 87
resident of Madison since she entered the University of Wis-
consin here in 1894.
She was a graduate of the university and received her
doctor of philosophy degree there in 1901. The honorary de-
gree of doctor of literature was conferred on her by the univer-
sity in 1926. She received the honorary degree of doctor of
humane letters from Marquette university in 1937.
Studied Abroad
Recipient of American Association of University Women's
fellowships, Miss Kellogg studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and
at the London School of History and Economics.
She was an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa and was a
senior research associate of the Wisconsin State Historical
society.
She was associated in historical writing with Reuben Gold
Thwaites, former superintendent of the Wisconsin Historical
Society, and worked with him in editing the Early Western
Travels series.
She was a member of the American Historical Association
and a fellow of the Royal Society of London.
One of the charter members of the Mississippi Valley His-
torical society, she served as its president in 1930.
Miss Kellogg was the author of books and monagraphs in-
cluding "American Colonial Charter," published in 1904.
"The French Regime in Wisconsin" (1925), "The British
Regime in Wisconsin" (1935), and "Wisconsin" (1938).
She was consulted in many historical projects, and scholars
came from all over the country for her advice and aid, especial-
ly on the history of the Northwest and the French regime in
North America.
She contributed many articles to the "Dictionary of Amer-
ican Biography," to the "Dictionary of American History,"
to the Wisconsin Magazine of History, and other publications.
Dr. Kellogg was buried at Forest Home Cemetery at Mil-
waukee.
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
Our newest institutional member, the very active Lake Mills-
Aztalan Historical Society has started what for years has been
desired by outstanding archeologists, the purchase of land connected
with the ancient Aztalan site. At a special July meeting arrange-
ments were made for the purchase of the two acres of land north of
the Aztalan Mound Park owned by our organization, and connecting
with the Aztalan Church Museum. Thus there now is a solid block
of land approximating five acres.
The Park and Recreational Plan of the Wisconsin State Planning
Board study made in cooperation with the Wisconsin Conservation
Commission and National Parks Service on page 62 says the follow-
ings:
The selection of historic sites for state ownership must be care-
fully made. Only those significant in the state or national scene
should be considered. The following localities are recommended for
state historic sites :
1. AZTALAN, in Jefferson County, the site of an early fortified
Indian village. This should include an area of at least 200
acres on both sides of the Crawfish River, so as to include the
entire village site and sufficient buffer area." The report
continues with 13 other state historic sites, some having been
acquired since the report was made in early 1939.
Funds for the purchase were loaned by a well known pioneer
Aztalan family.
An excellent weekend attendance has resulted from the policy
of special regional loan exhibits, including the Stoughton
Faville, Hubert Jacox and Albert Kracht Indian relic col-
lections.
The Museum is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Other
days the caretaker, Albert Kracht, will be present by appoint-
ment.
With the organization of a Jefferson County Park Commission
which desires significant regional information the writer is digging
into available records for the purpose of preparing a map of present
and destroyed indian sites so that the park commission may act more
wisely.
The Wisconsin State Highway Commission in purchasing land to
relocate highway 16 between Portage and the Wisconsin Dells was
careful not to destroy the mounds in the Kingsley Bend Group which
is about three miles east of the Dells and adjacent the Kingsley Bend
of the Wisconsin River rafting days. The Milwaukee Road tracks are
also adjacent.
One linear effigy mound approximately 400 feet long and portions
of two linear mounds also were included in the acquistion. These are
in the sub group sometimes known as the Bennett group. Attempts
on the part of our organization to have the enitre Kingsley Bend
group of 23 mounds purchased under the new Wisconsin Roadside
park law were unsuccessful due to lack of coordinated interest.
Einert Jensen holds a lease on most of these mounds known as 'Indian
Mound Park' and charges a small admission.
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES
Recently at the suggestion of President Brown I visited the School
House Mounds in Southeastern Adams county to study the advisa-
bility of having this site, with the school house now removed made
into a roadside park. Information and assistance will be appreciated.
I have received requests to visit the Columbus and Wautoma areas.
Information, etc., will be appreciated.
The Teller Mounds, adjacent the new Milwaukee Ordnance Plant,
and in an industrially zoned area, have shown the efforts of vandal-
ism. The Milwaukee School Board Recreation division in connection
with their nature day camp program at the 'Blue Hole' on the Mil-
waukee River included these Teller Mounds in their regional hike.
Have received a request of a Pennsylvania person, who has 2,000
pictures in his collection of covered bridges, for prints and facts
about Wisconsin covered bridges, present and destroyed. Information
will be appreciated.
WALTER BUBBERT
Clje ISStsconstn
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
1874 N. 40th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
23
Sccetn&er, 1942
. 4
Archeological History of Douglas County
Orra L. Hollister
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.50 PER YEAR
Entered as 2d class matter at the P. 0. at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
January 28, 1921, under the Act of August 21, 1912.
Wisconsin &rd)eoiogist
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
1874 N. 40th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
VOLUME 23, NO. 4
1942
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
Page
Archeological History of Douglas County, Wisconsin 89
Gerald C. Stowe
Orra L. Hollister, Charles E. Brown. _ __128
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
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Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 23 No. 4
MILWAUKEE, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1942
New Series.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY
WISCONSIN
Gerald C. Stowe
Ages past, long before the coming of the white man to America,
Indians lived at "The Head of The Lakes" where now stands
the city of Superior, located in Douglas County Wisconsin.
Lost in antiquity, prehistoric migrations of Asiatic Nomads
took place in northern Siberia. These Nomads through previous
centuries were driven north and east by other warlike bands of
Asiatics and finally when they arrived at the eastern tip of Si-
beria they looked across Bering Strait and saw the American
Highlands of Alaska in the distance.
These people soon learned the art of making strong sturdy
boats and sleds and finally the first Asiatic nomads eventually
crossed Bering Strait by boat in summer or over the ice bound
sea in winter, sweeping down in successive waves over the
American continent; the founders of our American Indians.
The American Indian definitely is of Asiatic origin. The simi-
larity between the two is striking in such points as their char-
acteristic convex noses, quality and distribution of hair, kind of
dark brown eyes with moderate slant, projecting cheek bones,
thin lips covering fairly prominent teeth with the posteriorly
hollowed upper incisors, and skin tinted coppery red.
The arrival of these first people to the Americas occurred some
10,000 to 20,000 years ago. The exact date of the first migrations
are not known but recent Archaeological research work carried
on at Folsom, New Mexico, Nebraska and in Colorado, have un-
earthed a number of dart points closely associated with and im-
bedded in the skeletons of an extinct species of buffalo which
stood seven feet high at the shoulders. Other dart points were
found with the bones of ponderous mammoths which lived be-
fore the ice age in North America.
90 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
The type of javelin point found has been called the Folsom
or Yuma point and is of a workmanship that surpassed any thing
heretofore discovered in America. They have a broad chipped-
out groove down each side and are exceptionally well formed.
With their discovery in such a location we have conclusive proof
that man did live in the Americas at a very early date.
In speculating upon the length of time that the Americas
have been inhabited by man, it is well to remember that upon
discovery they were settled from northern Alaska to the south-
ern most tip of South America by a population estimated to be
50 millions. These inhabitants had been here long* enough to have
become completely adjusted in the change from artic to tropi-
cal conditions, from sea level to the highest habitable altitudes,
to have established tribal boundaries and to have produced 23
separate culture centers.
In the Americas three hundred and sixty-eight tribal groups
were in existence, varying in organization from the anarchy of
the Eskimo to the League of the Iroquis, and from the Military
theocracies in Central America to the Communistic despotisms
in Pern.
The Indians built up their highest culture in Mexico, Peru and
South America. In Peru the wonderful weaving of the Incas
rivaled the Goblin tapestries of Europe and their surgery was
far advanced. The Mayas had astronomical observatories and
had worked out a better calendar than was used in Europe at
the same period of time. Their culture and architecture was well
developed, and in mathematics they had conceived the zero
several centuries before the Arabs.
The Indians of the Lake Superior Region belong to what is
called the " "Woodland Area." Enumerating their most char-
acteristic traits briefly we have : Maize or Indian corn, squashes,
and beans cultivated to a small extent. Wild rice was a great
staple and was gathered in huge quantities when ripe and
cooked with most of their foods in a myriad of ways. Pottery
was developed and used for cooking purposes, storage and for
pipes and beads. Vessels of wood and bark were common, and
there was some splint basketry. Two types of shelter prevailed.
Archeological History of Douglas County 91
a dome-shaped bark or mat-covered lodge for winter, a rec-
tangular bark house for summer. Canoes of birch-bark and dug-
outs were used. The toboggan and the use of snowshoes were
common. Clothing of skins, soft-soled moccasins with drooping
flaps, leggings, breechcloth, and sleeved shirts for men ; for
women a skirt and jacket, though a one-piece dress was known ;
skin robes were used, some woven of rabbit skins. Armor was not
used, bows were of plain wood ; they had no lances. Both the ball-
ended and gun-shaped wooden club were used. Mats of reed and
cedarbark were used quite extensively for many purposes. Thej T
made considerable use of copper, which they found in the raw
state in many places in the Lake Superior Region, using it for
knives, spears, arrows, axes and jewelry. They had many uses
for wood, stone and bone in making their tools, weapons and
utilitarian artifacts. They had a well developed scalp dance ; had
a fixed ritualistic procedure in conducting their war parties, and
carried ceremonial bundles for war, hunting and also for social
groups. They had a complex mythology, dealing in part with the
deeds of Manitou beings ; and specialized in root and herb for-
mulas for treating the sick.
The Indians encountered by the first French Traders at Su
perior in the late 1600's were the Chippewa (Ojibway), "To
Boast Till Puckered Up," an Algonkian people, who are today
one of the largest Indian tribes north of Mexico. Their number
in the United States and Canada is about 32,000.
The Chippewa in Wisconsin and around the Lake Superior
Region, came in the course of a migration from some point in
the Northeast shortly before the beginning of white history.
They came here about 1540 and found the land occupied by the
Sioux Tribes, and in the course of many years waged many
bloody battles before they drove them out. The Chippewa 's de
sire for the vast rice fields of northern Wisconsin and Minneso-
ta and because of the pressure of other war-like tribes further
eastward is given as the chief reason for their long-continued
bloody conflict with the Sioux for this territory.
Many battles were fought between the Chippewa and the
Sioux in and around Superior and the only records we have of
92 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLQGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
many of them are the stories passed down from generation to
generation by the Indian story-tellers.
One decisive battle was fought on Conner's Point, a part of
the present city of Superior, this taking place since recorded
historic time. Another was waged between the St. Louis and
Nemadji Rivers, right on the present site of the city. In both
battles the Chippewa emerged victorious. A great many other
battles were fought, some on the Brule and St. Croix Rivers and
since the Chippewa Indians were in direct contact with the
French and English traders long before the Sioux, they had
firearms, which was one of the decisive factors in their many
victories over them.
Many of the early Fur Traders working for the Fur Trading
Posts at the western extremity of Lake Superior left records,
sketchy in details but yet valuable, about one of the last great
battles between the Sioux and Chippewa which took place on the
famous Brule River, about the year 1841.
The Sioux were led by "Old Crow" and the Chippewa were
headed by Chief "Buffalo" and each had a number of sub-chiefs
to assist.
The exact location of this last important and highly decisive
battle has led to a great deal of speculation among present day
Historians. Two locations have been decided upon, but as yet
neither has been proven to be the correct one.
As the story goes, Chief Buffalo of the Chippewa, whose terri-
tory extended east of the Brule to the Apostle Islands, could
only gather a small force of men, numbering in the region of
about 200 to meet a much larger Sioux attacking force which
had time to prepare and who had high hopes of wiping out their
traditional enemies.
The two bands of Indians, with scouts out in advance, made
contact just before sunset on the banks of the Brule river The
Sioux on the west bank, the Chippewa on the east. The latter
were in a well hidden position on the higher eastern bank of the
river, while the Sioux were on the swampy water frontage, with
little or no protection.
Archeological History of Douglas County 93
Chief Buffalo being outnumbered had his men build many
huge fires for fully an eighth of a mile up and down the river
to give the Sioux the impression that his force was much larger
than it really was. He then divided his men in three parts, one
party was to go up the river and begin the attack at a pre-
arranged signal, one party was to remain in the center and a
third party was to go dow r n the river and attack simultaneously
with the first and second group.
At the first crack of dawn, Chief Buffalo's middle division
moved forward and made contact with the enemy, this w^as the
signal for the flanking forces to slowly and cautiously close in.
After a few shots were fired the Chippewa center retreated before
superior numbers of the Sioux which made the attack in full force
amid a great din of shouting and yelling. The Chippewa made a
panic stricken flight across the river to give the impression of
apparent weakness. The Sioux quick to discover their routing
of the enemy dashed after them, into the ice cold waters of the
Brule in great numbers.
The water being about three feet deep at this place slowed
them up and when the whole force began milling in a close
packed body, the Chippewa center then reversed direction and
at the same time the two flanking units closed in, cutting off
the Sioux rear and caught them in a trap before they could rally
for a counter-attack.
The Sioux became panic stricken and fell easy prey to the
Chippewa on the banks of the river. Many w r ere killed on both
sides with the Sioux losing the greater number. Finally they
broke and those which could escape through the hail of lead and
arrows which surrounded them, ran down or up the river and
fought in small groups till they finally escaped to their tribes to
the west, Thus the Sioux who advanced so bravely were decisive-
ly dispersed and defeated.
The power of the Sioux at the Head of the Lakes was forever
broken after this battle and the Chippewa took over their ter-
ritory as far west as the Mississippi river.
From time to time various Indian artifacts and aboriginal
remains are found, on and near the shores of Lake Superior
94 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
and smaller inland lakes and streams of Douglas County. They
consist of garden beds, burial places, primitive quarries, of flint,
quartz, copper mining pits, trails, pictograph rocks, stone heaps,
boulder mortars and other remains of great interest.
Douglas County and the Head of the Lakes Region was one of
the first in Wisconsin to feel the footsteps of the fur traders and
early white adventurers and it was one of the most famous fur
trading regions in North America, but despite these factors,
Douglas County is comparatively new in permanent settlements
and because of this fact the archaeological research story of the
county has not as yet been fully exploited, because there are few
men who are interested in such work. In the future when the for-
est lands are settled and planted into farms, the complete story
will be unveiled, much by the farmer's plow when he turns over
the virgin soil.
Douglas County boasts some important village sites, camp
sites, burials, mounds, many battlefields, famous ''Trading
Post" sites, many primitive copper mining pits and a series of
trails and famous portages.
Burials and burial mounds have been found on Wisconsin
Point, within the city limits of Superior, at Amnicon Lake,
Lyman Lake, at Lake Nebagamon, many on the shores of St.
Croix Lake and on the island and others ranging along the shores
of the Eau Claire Lakes. Other scattered burials and mounds
are found in the county.
Not a great deal of Indian prehistoric material has been found
to date. That which has been brought to light has been placed
on display in the Chippewa Indian Room at the Douglas County
Historical Museum, located at Superior, Wisconsin.
The Chippewa Indians of Douglas County were very fortunate
in that the native raw copper was to be found in their area.
"Father Allouez, in 1865, found that the savages regarded cop-
per and the region where it was found with the awe and respect
due the divinity."
However, since early French and Jesuit explorers made no
mention of the mining of copper, it is probable that the pits had
been neglected and forgotten at that time.
Archeological History of Douglas County 95
There are literally thousands of old mining pits and trenches
:n the Trap Range which extends through Keweenaw, Houghton
and Ontonagon counties in the northern peninsula of Michigan
and which extends to Douglas County. The same range dips un-
der the water of Lake Superior and protrudes above the surface
of Isle Royale, which seems to have provided richer rewards than
any other locality. In several places in this region great blocks of
copper, weighing three, four and even five thousand pounds,
have been brought to light, bearing the toolmarks of the aborigi-
nal miners. Now whether it was the Chippewa Indians who
mined this copper or those who lived in this region many years
before they came and drove them out is not known for sure but
from all indications both carried on mining operations since
the age of the workings are from recent to very old.
Excavation of the pits, which had filled with debris by the
passage of an untold number of years, proves them to be from
four to ten feet deep, and in some cases thirty feet across.
Foster and Whitney, in their interesting geological report to
Congress, on the mineral district of Lake Superior in 1850-51,
remark : "It is inferred from the character of the trees growing
upon the piles of rubbish betvreen which and those forming
the surrounding forest no perceptible difference can be detected :
from the mouldering state of the wooden billets and levers ; and
from the nature of the materials with which these excavations
are filled, consisting of fine clay, enveloping half-decayed leaves,
and bones of the bear, deer, moose and caribou. This filling up
resulted, not from the action of temporary streamlets, but from
the slow accumulations of years."
"These evidences are observed on this location for a distance
of two and a half miles. Upon a mound of earth we saw a pine
stump, broken fifteen feet from the ground, ten feet in circum-
ference, which must have grown, flourished and died, since the
earth in which it had taken root was thrown out. Three hun-
dred and ninety-five annular rings of a hemlock were counted,
growing nearby under similar circumstances. Thus it would
appear that these explorations were made before Columbus start-
ed on his voyage of discovery."
96 WISCONSIN ARGHEOLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
Several primitive copper mining pits have been found in
Douglas County. One is located on the Brule river where it cuts
through the Trap Range, running east and west in the county.
In the future when archaeologists carry on further research work
more of these ancient copper pits will come to light.
Two methods of mining seems to have been adopted by these
prehistoric people : one, of following veins of copper into the
solid rock by shattering the matrix with fire, water and mauls ;
the other, of trenching through glacial deposits in search of
float copper. Many of the Chippewa Indians carried on their
search for copper in the stream beds, especially in the Brule
River.
The work required to make these pits by the primitive meth-
ods at the disposal of the Indians, was colossal. First, the rock
surfaces had to be uncovered in order to find the veins where
the cupper occurred in strings, sheets and masses of various
shapes, enclosed in the tough rock. The findings of quantities
of charcoal in the pits indicates that the rocks were first heated
and then water was poured upon them in order to fracture them
to facilitate their being pounded to pieces with stone mauls.
Much interesting material has been found in the rubbish re-
covered from these pits such as wooden bowls for bailing and
transporting water, the remains of birch-bark baskets used in car-
rying out waste material, pieces of timber thought to have been
used as skids and ladders, white cedar shovels and copper chisels
and wedges. Mauls were strewn over the surface of the ground
and throughout the debris in the pits and trenches in such quan-
tities that on Isle Royale alone they are estimated to number at
least a million, representing a thousand tons of material. The
mauls and hammer stones, each ranging from one to forty pounds
in weight, are usually oval in shape and are simple unworked
cobblestones of granite or other hard material.
After wresting native copper from the matrix of these tough
rocks, the Chippewa Indians pounded it into the desired shape by
alternately heating it and dipping it into water, thus annealing
the metal, making it tougher, more ductile, and easier to pound
into shape.
Archeological History of Douglas County 97
Lake Superior copper is more pure than the metal which
was smelted in Europe and brought to the Americas by the early
explorers. Lake copper runs from 99.65 per cent to 99.99 per
cent pure. Its content of silver and iron is quite constant, and
minute traces of arsenic, nickel and cobalt are occasionally found,
but never lead or bismuth. European copper is not so pure and
contains ponderable quantities of lead, bismuth, arsenic and
antimony. It is quite certain that after the arrival of the white
man, the natives were supplied with some European copper in
the shape of ornaments and trinkets.
The earliest visitors to Lake Superior were, no doubt, well
acquainted with its rich deposits of copper ore. More than one
of their published descriptions mention it. Charlevoix states
that ' ' Such was its purity, that one of the monks, who had been
bred a goldsmith, made from it several sacramental articles".
The Chippewa Indians of the Lake Superior Region after min-
ing the copper would trade great quantities of it to other Indians
in the United States for pipestone, mica, flint, obsidian, dyes,
herbs, shells, lead and other articles. Archaeologists doing exca-
vations in all parts of the United States have found Lake Supe-
rior copper implements.
A great deal of material could be written on the use of stone,
wood and bone by the Chippewa Indians, but since their use of
such materials is much like that of the other Woodland Tribes,
it will be passed over. The Chippewas did make extensive use
of the wild plants, shrubs, trees and other vegetation of the for-
est, perhaps using more than other tribes in the United States.
As we well know, man, in his struggle up from savagery, has
found through the trial and error method, by sheer accident
or through close observation from animals, a great and varied
use of plants for food, medicines, dyes, seasonings and for utili-
tarian uses.
We know that in savage and barbarous life the occupation of
first importance is the quest of food. In the earliest times peo-
ple had to possess a practical working knowledge of plants with
regard to their utilization for food, those which were edible,
98 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
those which were needed to avert famine and those, because of
deleterious properties, must be avoided at all times.
When the first French traders came to the Head of the Lakes
in the 1600 's they found the Chippewa Indians living on the
present site of the city of Superior. Indians, who were in the
late stone age, using flint and abraded stone weapons and tools,
artifacts fashioned from bone, shell, copper and clay, and using
a myriad of plants for food, medicines, dyes, seasonings, utili-
tarian uses and for other purposes.
The various uses of plants by the Chippewas indicates the large
extent to which they understood and utilized the natural re-
sources of their environment. The dominant character' of the
vegetation of a region is always an important factor in shaping
the culture of that region, not only directly by the raw mater-
ials which it supplies or withholds, but indirectly through the
floral influence of the fauna. The food staples, the style of
housebuilding, the forms of industry are quite different in the
Lake Superior Region from what they were on the plains and
in southern Wisconsin, this all being due in great part to the
type of plants and vegetation growing in the Lake Superior re-
gion.
Sixty-nine (69) plants, as used by the Chippewa Indians of
the region are regarded as medicinal by white people. Dr. W.
W. Stockberger, physiologist in charge of drug, poisonous and
oil plant investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, carried on the work and found many inter-
esting things about the use of these plants by the Chippewa
Indians.
Certain persons in every tribe of the Chippewas from taste and
habit, would come to possess a fund of such knowledge. These
medicine men knew how to add the weight and dignity of cere-
mony and circumstance so that the other natives held them in
awe and fear.
These primitive professors of botany would take young men
who were interested and had an aptitude for becoming medicine
men, out on private excursions to the haunts of the plants and
there impart to them the knowledge of the characteristics and
Archeological History of Douglas County 99
habits, ecological relations,and geographical distribution of the
plants, together with their use, methods and time of gathering,
preserving and preparing for medicinal use, and the proper way
to appl> them.
So great was the secrecy surrounding the remedies that the
Chippewa medicine men used, it was seldom .that they gave the
correct names of plants. It was difficult, if not impossible, to
recognize ? root after it had been dried and rubbed into shreds,
but medicine men frequently combined an aromatic herb with
their medicines as a precaution against their identification.
A short detailed report on the Chippewa Indian's use of plants
by Gerald C. Stowe was published in the , 1941, issue
of the Wisconsin Archaeological Magazine.
Like other Indians in Wisconsin and elsewhere, the Chippewa
had many legends, the most popular being their story of their
all-powerful Man-i-tou (Spirit) Winneboujou. He was to them
what Paul Bunyan is to the lumberjack.
John A. Bardon, late historian of early Superior history, wrote
the following about Winneboujou 's blacksmith shop.
"While his summer home was always on the Brule river near
its source, (because he had to keep his eye on Ah-mik, the Bea-
ver, a rival Manitou, but of the water, who might slip across the
0-ne-gum (portage) to the St. Croix and then via the Mississ-
ippi to the Gulf) he spent a part of his time in various industrial
pursuits. He had his work shop near the Eau Claire Lakes, where
there are yet many ancient Indian mounds, and to him wore
only a few steps away. He used the Ish-pim-ing (highest) flat
topped granite peak there for his anvil."
"It was here he shaped the 'Mis-wa-bik' or native copper
that was found in the Brule river bed not far from Lake Super-
ior, shaping it into various useful articles for use by the Chip-
pewas, but especially spears and fish hooks for catching the giant
'Sen-e-sug-ge-go' or speckled trout that abounded in the clear,
bubbling spring waters, particularly at the Lake Superior mouth
of this always famous fishing stream.
100 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
"Much of his work was done by moonlight and the ringing
blows of his Pe-wa-bik hammer were heard by the Indians even
as far down Lake Superior as the Sault Rapids. ' '
"The blows could be heard at Superior with great distinct-
ness and were held in particular awe by the visiting Sioux, but
\Vinneboujou was always a great friend of the Chippewas <md
the noise of his hammer was, especially to them, a kind of good
Coming in search of new fields of fur trade, especially for
beaver, the little animal of ingenuity and industry, which has
played so important a part in the exploration and settling of
this continent, the first French traders, mostly French Indians,
called Coureurs des bois (Travellers of the woods), hardy and
daring men, carried on exceptional feats of exploration in the
northwest, especially on Lake Superior. These French traders
and trappers, dressed in a picturesque style, gaudy headdresses,
worsted belts, rough trousers, and some dressed like the Indians
in buckskins, came in birchbark canoes purchased from the In-
dians, some of which measured forty feet in length, three feet
deep and with a width of five feet. They would float four tons of
freight and carry a crew of eight men.
The first of these early explorers to come to the Head of the
Lakes were two bold and intrepid Frenchmen by the name of
Pierre d 'Esprit (Sieur Radisson) and Medard Chouart (Sieur
des Grosseilliers), who came in the early 1660 's in search of new
fields of fur trade.
The Jesuit Relation of 1660 notes in that year the return to
Montreal of two venturesome explorers, who had penetrated to
the Lake Superior Region.
The story of the adventures of Radisson and his brother-in-
law has been gathered chiefly from a manuscript narrative
written by the former when he was in England.
This manuscript was a curious history. It was not written
for publication, but to interest King Charles in the schemes of the
renegade Frenchmen to have the English wrest the Hudson Bay
country from French control. They did interest Prince Rubert,
Archeological History of Douglas County 101
and the founding- of the famous Hudson Bay Company resulted
from their efforts.
The manuscript being 1 the product of a Frenchman with a
limited knowledge of English and an utter contempt for the rules
of spelling', is a unique specimen of orthographic eccentricity.
He tells of his first visit to the Head of the Lakes Region and how
they built the first habitation ever built by Avhite men in Wis-
consin, on Chequamegon Bay, near the present city of Ashland.
This is Radisson's curious description of the little fort and shel-
ter they built: (Taken from the diary)
' ' We went about to make a fort of stakes wch was in this man-
ner. Suppose that the watter side had ben in one end; att the
same end there should be murtherers, and att need we made a
bastion in a triangle to defend us from an assault. The doore was
neare the watter side, our fire was in the midle, and our bed on
the right hand covered. There were broughs of trees all about
our fort laved acrosse , one uppon an other. Besides these
broghs, we had a long cord tyed with some small bells, Avch
weare senteryes. ' '
On succeeding voyages the French traders were accompanied
by self-sacrificing and brave Jesuit Fathers called "Black
Robes" by the Indians whom they came to minister the word of
the Gospel to. On the eighth of August, 1665, in company with
six Frenchmen and about four hundred Indians of different
tribes, Father Claude Jean Allouez set out on a long and diffi-
cult voyage of almost two months. On the first of October he
arrived at Chequamegon Bay and here he built a rude bark
chapel, the first mission in Wisconsin, on the mainland not far
from Radisson's old palisade, where seven tribes were living in
one community. He called the site La Pointe.
In 1667, accompanied by fur traders, Father Allouez visited
the present site of the city of Superior and here established a
temporary mission at the mouth of Bluff Creek on the shores of
Allouez Bay.
The many French traders who followed, bringing with them
steel knives, hatchets, guns, copper kettles, glass beads and sil-
ver ornaments, in trade for peltries from the Indians, destroyed
102 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
forever their primitive stone age craftsmanship in flint, stone,
copper, clay and bone. At the present day, through the actions
of the Government and interested local units, a revival of the
early Indian crafts is being carried out, especially in basket
weaving, use of pottery, leather work and the Indian use of
plants.
The most famous portage trail in Douglas County is that of
the Brule-St. Croix, which lies between the headwaters of the
Brule river and Lake St. Croix. This was used and known to
the Indians long before the first white man, Daniel Greysolon
DuLhut, ascended the famous river in 1679. He was one of the
most enterprising, as well as shrewd and influential, of the early
traders, and he was the first to notice and comprehend the ad-
vantages presented by the head of the great chain of lakes as a
commercial point, and established several trading posts in this
vicinity.
DuLhut had been sent into this territory to effect peace be-
tween the warring and hereditary enemies, the Sioux and the
Chippewas, a very dangerous mission which Governor Fronte-
nac tried to discourage him from undertaking.
He called a great council of the two tribes to meet at the head
of the Lake in 1679, and was successful in negotiating a tempo-
rary peace between the two tribes, thus opening again the fur
trade and making the fur routes safe for traders once more.
In his journal in June, 1680, he gives a description of his as-
cending the Brule River and over the famous Brule-St. Croix
portage. The exact words of his journal stated: "Not being
satisfied with my explorations by land, I took two canoes with
a savage who was my interpreter, and with four Frenchmen, to
seek the means of making it by water. For this purpose I en-
tered into a river which has its mouth eight leagues from the
extremity of Lake Superior on the south side, where after hav-
ing cut down some trees and broken through about one hun-
dred beaver dams, I went up the said river, and then made a
carry of half a league to reach a lake which empties into a fine
river which brought me to the Mississippi. ' '
This famous portage trail was used by many other famous
explorers and historians, and in 1933 the Garden Club of Super-
Archeological History of Douglas County 103
ior, took as one of its projects, the work of retracing and mark-
ing the Brule-St. Croix portage. The work has been completed
and ten boulders have been placed along the trail with a story
of the trail and the names of the famous men who traversed this
route.
The earliest record of a real settlement in Superior was in
1793. In that year Jean Baptiste Perrault, in the employ of Alex-
ander Kay, with ten men started to build a post not far from
what is now the Municipal Gas plant, at the intersection of Win-
ter and Bay streets. Perrault describes the building of the fort
the first permanent establishment at the Head of the Lakes.
(Taken from his diary.)
"The next day the men prepared for work and on the 18th I
gave them rough estimates of dimensions of the timbers and put
them in the wood yard to build two houses, of forty feet each and
a shed of 60 feet, I superintended the work myself, dividing
my forces. I set two men to sawing, six to quartering, two I
kept with me. On the 12th of September My Sayer arrived and
took up his quarters in his house, half of which was finished.
It was not long before he was enjoying the other half, which
was finished the 24th of September. After this we began the
second house to shelter ourselves, and went into it towards All-
Saint's Day. In the course of autumn, winter and spring, we
built the warehouse and stockade. All was ready on "The ar-
rival of Mr. M'Kenzie, who came to Fond du Lac in La Loutre,
commanded by Capt. Maxwell and bringing the merchandise for
the outfits sent out from Fond du Lac."
The new establishment was called Ft. St. Louis and was occu-
pied by the Northwest Company until it withdrew from Ameri-
can territory after the war of 1812.
George R. Stuntz, first government surveyor at the Head of the
Lakes, found indications of this early post in 1852-53, when he
carried out the initial surveys of this country. All that was left at
this time were low mounds of earth indicating where the outlines
of the buildings stood.
For many years the only white people in the Douglas County
region were the fur traders and some copper miners. The Chip-
104 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLQGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
pewa Indians, through many treaties, remained friendly to the
whites and lived in and near their settlements, learning the ways
of the white man who exploited them quite extensively, like they
did all other Indians of North America. It was in the early
1860 's, when the city of Superior was a small straggling com-
munity just recovering somewhat from the severe panic which
struck in 1857, when the Chippewa Indians caused their first
real disturbance since early fur trading days.
The old Indian stockade, or fort, built at Superior during the
winter of 1862-JG3, was for protection against the Chippewa and
Sioux Indians, the latter of which in 1862-63 were then on the war
path against the whites in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Several pictures of the old fort, a painting and pencil sketch,
which have been photographed and are now in the Douglas County
Historical Museum, show what this old stockade looked like, the
unique type of its construction, its fortified sides and block-houses,
and the number of buildings within the enclosure.
These pictures were made by a French half-breed Chippewa In-
dian woman whose mother lived within the fort during its con-
struction and for several years after, and when an old lady,
she had her daughter paint the pictures from sketches and descrip-
tions she gave.
It is hard to realize that this Indian scare occurred only 80 years
ago in Wisconsin. (August, 1942.) At that time the Civil War
between the states, which b^an with the battle of Fort Sumpter
in the harbor of Charleston, 3n April 12, 1861, was in progress a
little over a year, when the Sioux outbreak started, August 18,
1862, in Minnesota.
This uprising was caused by the belief of the Indians that they
were unjustly treated by the Government, Indian agents and
traders, all of which was true.
The Minnesota Sioux on August 18, 1862, perpetrated one of
the worst massacres on record in American history that of New
Ulm in which over 800 men, women and children were killed or
wounded.
Archeological History of Douglas County 105
General Sibley was sent out from Fort Snelling, at St. Paul,
with a force of 400 men of the Sixth Regiment, Minnesota Volun-
teers, on August 20th, to combat the Indians and to put them back
on the reservation.
In the meantime, when the residents of Superior and vicinity
heard the first inaccurate reports of the massacre, they were
plunged into a state of fear great excitement and dire appre-
hension. Town meetings were held to discuss the situation and
devise ways and means to meet it.
For many days knots of excited men hung around the streets
discussing the grave situation their community was in because of
this serious uprising. They were afraid that the Sioux would
cross the Mississippi and attack the Head of the Lakes Region be-
cause of this unprotected state. At this time many of the young
men had left for the Civil War, and they keenly regretted the loss
of important fighting men.
News of the Civil War was scanty in this far flung community
and the distant repercussions of the war seemed of lesser impor-
tance than the vital issue at stake adequate protection of their
community.
To make matters much worse, "Little Crow," Chief of the
Minnesota Sioux, sent emissaries to Chief Hole-in-the-Day, of the
Chippewa tribe in the vicinity of Superior, and tried to patch up
the old enmity between the nations in order to bring warfare
against the whites with their combined forces.
When the people of Superior found out that the Sioux were
making overtures of friendship to their hated enemies, they be-
came very panicky and clamored for immediate means of pro-
tection.
After several days of consideration and discussion the men
of Superior eliminated all plans for the defense of the town
except two. One was to plank up the warehouses on Quebec
pier and make them as nearly fireproof as possible, to serve as
places of immediate resort in case of alarm. The other plan
was to enclose one square of the town in a stockade with block
houses at the angles. Within such an enclosure, if stocked with
106_ WISCONSIN ARCHEQLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
provisions, it would be possible for the people to remain for a
longer time. It was estimated that the first project would cost
eight hundred and fifty dollars, the second twenty-five hun-
dred dollars. The Committee of Safety decided to fortify Que-
bec pier, and the work went forward with all speed. As soon
as there had been made a safe deposit for property and a ref-
uge for all the citizens, Thomas Clark gave notice to the people
that at the tap of the bell, by day or by night, all women were
to betake themselves thither with children and what food and
clothing they could safely carry.
To assuage any fear of immediate attack that such action
might arouse, and also to inform the Chippewa Indians that
citizens of Superior had full confidence in them, a suggestive
and politic statement was published in the "Chronicle," saying,
"The Chippewa of Wisconsin have always been the white man's
friend, and are not feared now. We have no question of their
fidelity, and have no doubt they are in equal and more imme-
diate danger than we."
When the newspapers arrived from St. Paul, giving accurate
accounts of the destruction of New Ulm, the fears of the people
in Superior were not lessened. The attack had been made by
six hundred and fifty Indians, mounted, armed with rifles and
double barreled shot guns, whose bullets would carry three hun-
dred yards guns provided by the Government for them to shoot
buffalo. As all the able-bodied young men of New Ulm were
serving in the war, only two hundred and fifty men were left
to defend the place.
As soon as the facts of the Sioux uprisings were definitely
known in Superior, the leading citizens took steps to defend the
town and quiet the fears of the apprehensive. A public meeting
was called, a committee of safety was chosen, and Mr. E. C.
Clarke was dispatched to Madison to procure arms. Inasmuch as
Superior had no means of speedy communication with other set-
tlements, the committee of safety deemed it wise to be unceas-
ingly on the lookout, and to forestall as far as possible any overt
act of hostility on the part of an Indian. In furtherance of those
ends they issued on Sunday, August 31,
Archeological History of Douglas County 107
Public Order Number One
1st. There will be a regularly organized Guard detailed each
day, who will go on duty at nine o'clock each evening, and re-
main on until five o'clock the following morning, which guard
will act under the orders of an officer to be appointed by the
Committee of Safety. To the furtherance of this regulation, every
male person residing within the limits of the Town, between the
ages of eighteen and sixty years, will be called upon in turn to
stand guard, and if not able to perform the service personally,
they will be required to furnish a substitute.
2nd. All families are requested to sleep each night, within the
following prescribed limits, namely : between St. John and
Thompson avenues, and Fourth street and the Bay.
3rd. All venders of ammunition are prohibited selling or dis-
posing of the same to any Indian, under penalty of confiscation
and having their place of business closed.
4th. Any person who shall sell or give liquor to any Indian or
Squaw will be arrested, his stock taken possession of, and a
guard placed over his or her premises, until a proper disposition
of the same shall be determined upon."
The Kimball home was in the zone set apart, and from that
time on for months to come, people went there to spend the night.
In the rooms below stairs they laid their mattresses on the floor
so that, if Indians should come and fire through the windows,
there would be a chance of the bullets passing over the sleepers.
In the period of uncertainty as to whether any troops what-
ever would be available for the protection of Superior, the men
of the town had conceived the idea of making soldiers of them-
selves. They organized a military company, giving it the digni-
fied name of the Douglas County Home Guards. Washington
Ashton, the former young editor of the "Chronicle," Superior's
first newspaper, was Captain, Dan Waterman was First Lieu-
tenant, and August Zachau, the town handy-man and carpenter
was Second Lieutenant. There were five sergeants and eight
corporals, also a drummer and fifer and sixty-five privates.
They met for drill three evenings in the week and were sup-
108 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
plied with arms from the store obtained by Mr. Clarke. Later
when the soldiers came they were aided in drill by Lieutenant
Curtice.
On the 20th of September, 1862, Mr. Clarke returned from
Madison and he had obtained the promise of two hundred stands
of arms and five thousand cartridges, which were to be sent up
on the next steamer. A full month elapsed before the arms were
received, one hundred and ninety-two rifled muskets and five
thousand cartridges.
The people of Superior began to fear that no soldiers would
come to them, that winter would close in, isolating them with
barriers of ice and snow, insurmountable for escape, but not ef-
fective to prevent an Indian attack. They were almost in despair,
then, in this, their darkest hour, they were notified that paroled
prisoners were to take the place of the soldiers released for
service at the front, and that General Pope had assigned to
Superior a company composed of troops that had been captured
the preceding spring at the Battle of Shiloh by the Confederates
and traded for some of their own prisoners. This was Company
B. of the 18th Wisconsin.
Governor Salomon made requisition of warm clothing for those
men, and embarked them on the steamer "Sea Bird." They
reached Superior in November, 1862, and the soldiers were quar-
tered in homes and boarding houses.
In the meantime General Sibley conquered a band of the Sioux
in the Battle of Wood Lake, Minnesota, September 25th, 1862,
releasing 250 captives and capturing 2,000 prisoners. General
Sibley was ordered to execute 38 Indians that had committed
murder and outrage and they were hung from one scaffold
December 26, 1862, at Mankato, Minnesota. After this he took
his men and pursued the rest of the Indians and it was not till
the following year that he finally made them surrender.
A great many Indians were still on the war-path and the
Chippewas were very unfriendly so it was finally decided to build
a stockade and discontinue the project of fortifying Quebec Pier.
The chief activity in Superior during the late winter and early
spring of 1862-63 was the building of this stockade, for protec-
-
Archeological History of Douglas County 109
tion against the Indians and for the proper housing of the
soldiers.
The War Department was promptly responsive to the needs
of Superior, and gave orders for the building of a stockade, the
entire expense to be borne by the United States Government, and
the labor to be performed by the soldiers. Th supervisors of
Douglas County engaged Charles Kimball to plan, direct and
superintend that work.
For the location of the stockade a level space was selected in
the most densely populated part of the town, extending from the
bay shore back to Third street, and lying between Carlton (18th
Avenue East) and Walbridge (17th Avenue East) Avenues.
Three frame buildings were already standing on the land, two
occupied by half breeds.
These buildings were retained for the use of the soldiers. The
stockade was to be large enough not only to accommodate the
troops, but in addition to furnish a refuge for the entire popu-
lation of the town in time of danger. Provisions and ammunition
for use in case of a siege were to be kept in the inclosure at all
times, sufficient to last until reenforcements could be received.
Th first work was the digging of a trench four feet deep to
mark the four sides of the square. Poles were then set closely in
the trench to a height of twelve feet above the ground, each
sharpened to a point at the top. The poles were logs of cedar,
tamarack and spruce, from eight to twelve inches thick, cut in
the neighborhood so as to clear the land as suggested by Captain
Samuls.
There was a gate on Carlton Avenue and on Walbridge Ave-
nue. A little creek ran through the stockade, passing near the
small houses and several Indian wigwams within the enclosure.
On the front, or bay side, was an opening of twenty feet, on
each side of which the stockade was projected into the bay for
about thirty yards, thus insuring access to water and a free
passage for boats. At each of the farther corners on the land
ide was a block house of logs, from which the garrison could
direct an enfilading fire along all sides except the bay side. Alto-
ether it was a very substantial, bullet-proof structure, strongly
110 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
resembling its colonial prototype. Several large pines were left
standing in the enclosure, as towers from which to make ob-
servations, and a large house, forty feet by sixty, was erected
for use as a community house in case of necessity.
The original stockade was speedily completed, and the people
did not venture beyond the clearings. They rounded up the cows
for milking before sunset. Men who had never used firearms for
self-protection were equipped with muskets and bayonets, and
thus armed they daily and nightly patrolled the streets and ap-
proaches. When it was necessary to go out after dark, they car-
ried their guns cocked for every stump suggested a crouching
redskin ready to spring with a whoop and a tomahawk.
Rumors were always in the air, and one day came a report so
alarming that a stampede to the stockade was bardy averted.
The following was taken from the written description by James
S. Ritchie who was one of the members of the Home Guard :
''May 20, 1863. This week an Indian Scare. Bungoes Boys
reported they were frightened at barking of a fox ; thought the
Sioux were coming. Soldiers put out guards, people were aroused
in the middle of the night."
Excitement and fear was at fever pitch and one fatal accident
occurred because of the too-alertness of the men on guard.
The home of August Schaar was located some way from the
Stockade and was considered in an isolated and dangerous posi-
tion. However, the Schaar family would not give up their home
to live in the stockade and continued to supply the soldiers and
town's people with small fruits and vegetables from their small
farm.
During the period of greatest alarm when the soldiers thought
the Sioux were going to attack along with the Chippewa Indians,
young Godfrey Schaar, aged 14, in company with his folks was
on his way to the Stockade. It was just at dusk and Godfrey, in
advance of the others, was carrying a short fishpole and paddle
in his hand. In the semi-darkness, as the arrangement of his
dress made him look somewhat strange, and the fishpole resem-
bled a gun, a soldier on guard called out to him to "Halt." But
Archeological History of Douglas County 111
the young boy knowing the soldiers so well, did not heed the
summons, whereupon the soldier fired, and the boy fell.
The young soldier who fired the shot went to the body, and
found to his amazement and grief that he had killed a boy whom
he knew, one of a family that had shown him friendly kindness
in their home.
On examination it was found that a lead slug or bullet and a
load of duck shot went through the boy's chest, and the bundle
on his back kept it from killing his Grandmother who was direct-
ly behind him.
The young soldier was so shocked by his terrible mistake in
killing a boy with whom he had talked and worked, soon died
afterward with a broken heart.
This sad accident cast a gloom over the entire community.
Mr. Schaar grieved so much and so continuously, that it eventu-
ally unsettled his mind. He gave up all public activities and be-
came practically a recluse.
The drum which Mr. Schaar used in the Home Guards and
which his son used to play with, eventually came into the hands
of Jr. John A. Bardon, early Superior resident, and he in turn
gave it to the Douglas County Historical Museum. This is now
on display at the Museum along with several rifles which were
used by the Home Guard, a solid cannon shot and some of the
bullets from the rifles.
The Chippewa Indians finally decided to remain friendly to
the whites and General Sibley in 1863 drove the Sioux to the
west, out of danger to the settlements around the Head of the
Lakes.
News that the Sioux were effectually quieted was not long in
reaching Superior. It brought inexpressible relief. Men shook
hands and treated one another. Women wept, and opened their
long closed windows. The news came also to the Chippewa, who
gradually renewed their visits to the settlement, with the same
stolid, harmless demeanor that had been their wont before they
were mistreated and feared.
As there was no longer any need of soldiers at Superior, most
112 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
of them departed on the side-wheeled steamer " Planet" early in
August, 1863, thirteen remained in charge of the post for a few
months more, then Lieutenant Curtice sold off the community
stores, and the stockade was abandoned.
The steamer that took the soldiers away in August brought on
its return trip to Superior the piece of artillery that had been
applied for the year before. It was a twelve pound brass howitzer,
accompanied with one hundred rounds of ammunition, consisting
of round shot, shell, and canister. Although the occasion for its
use was over, the people could not refrain from firing it. Sev-
eral times they gratified their desire to see and hear it work.
The din and the shivering of glass in the vicinity of the stockade
made up in a measure for the lack of a noisy demonstration on
the Fourth of July.
Years later after the War, General W. T. Sherman came from
St. Paul over the stage line, and the boys about Superior built
bon fires in honor of him. They took the old brass cannon and
loaded it up and attempted to fire it when they heard the rattle
of the coach coming up Second street; but it refused to go off,
so they removed the charge and reloaded it and attempted to fire
it again. This time it exploded just as the coach drove up to the
hotel, scattering fragments in all directions. Fortunately nobody
was hurt, but it broke several windows in the Avery House (Su-
perior's first hotel).
The cannon was later borrowed by the Duluth "Tilden and
Hendricks" Club. An envious club stole it and dumped it in
the lake, near 3rd Avenue East. It has never been found but in
the near future some public spirited and historical minded per-
son will see that it is raised and placed in the museum.
The old stockade stood for several years and was finally cut
down and used for fire-w r ood by Superior residents. The site is
now occupied by the filtration plant of the Superior Water, Light
and Power Company.
Leaving the archaeological story in the background for the
present, the next part of our history deals with the Doug! a*
County Historical Museum, which traces its lineage way back to
the very beginning of the founding of the City of Superior.
Archeological History of Douglas County 113
In 1852 when Congress gave a grant of 750,000 acres of land as
an aid to construct a ship canal and lock around the "Soo," or
rapids in St. Mary's river, it brought attention to the head of
Lake Superior as the ultimate site for a thriving city.
News traveled slowly in those days, but as soon as word
reached St. Paul that ground had been actually broken for the
great "Soo" Canal, three educated, able and enterprising young
men held a secret meeting and resolved to claim land and lay out
a city at the Head of Lake Superior.
Not being able to leave themselves they sent three men in June
1853 to reconnoitre and hold the best location against other pos-
sible settlers and speculators.
In September, 1853, the first log house was built in Superior
on the banks of the Nemadji river at the foot of Second street
by these men.
Rival projectors came to Superior for the purpose of securing
a share of the glory and profits supposed to be in store for set-
tlers at this new proposed city.
The first winter of 1853-54 was one long to be remembered by
the handful of hardy men who were then at Superior. Provis-
ions were so scarce that word was sent to St. Paul warning in-
tending settlers to stay away until new supplies could be secured
at the opening of navigation.
In January, 1854, there was only one woman in the "City";
not a child, school, church or preacher, no newspaper, no books,
no roads, and no place or manner of amusement.
It was in that year, September 1854, that the Douglas County
Historical Museum had its early beginning in the organization of
the First Historical Society in the northern part of the state,
which finally led to the founding of the Museum in later years.
Superior in 1854 had a few trees cut down and land cleared
only in the central part of the city, for it only had one street,
Second street, which had been cleared in winter when the snow
was deep. Therefore, it was full of very tall stumps of trees,
and to drive an ox or horse team down the street it was neces-
sary to " wiggle-waggle" to get through.
114 WISCONSIN ARGHEOLQGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
The blackness of primeval forest shut it in on three sides and
clustered in the clearing close to the shore of Superior Bay,
were the dwellings of the pioneers, most of them rough-hewn or
bark-covered logs, and roofs of hand-hewn cedar shakes or bark
sheets. Scattered on the edges were the tepees of the many
friendly Chippewa Indians who swelled the population.
September, 1854, the embryo City of Superior boasted but 152
people, but yet these enterprising people, pioneers, hardy and
daring felt the need of organizing as such at an early date, a soci-
ety with the express purpose in mind to save historical data and
objects. They called their organization the ''Superior Historical
Society," and membership was extended to all the residents of
the city.
An article appeared in the first issue of Superior's first news-
paper, called the "Superior Chronicle," which came out June 12,
1855. The article read as follows :
"The citizens of Douglas county on September last, organized
a Historical society, choosing Colonel R. B. Carlton, the oldest
resident of the Head of the Lakes, president."
Although there are some allusions to this early Historical Soci-
ety in the public prints no records of its list of members, laws or
the minutes of meetings have been preserved and it apparently
passed into oblivion during the great panic of 1857 when the
climax reached Superior, October 13th. In less than one year the
population of Superior dwindled from twenty-five hundred to
scarcely five hundred.
During the years immediately following the severe panic, in-
terest in the Historical Society slowly waned, but many kept
accurate records because these early Superior pioneers were
young and optimistic, they had a profound faith in their com-
munity, they were willing to face the hardships of life and in
their writings they were direct and forthright. Their early
diaries and records which they kept show that they had a talent
for organization and possessed a streak of audacity bred by the
hardships of the frontier. They were self-reliant and adaptable,
Archeological History of Douglas County 115
were cooperative and had faith in their early community and be-
cause of these facts the embers of interest in the Historical Soci-
ety were kept burning through many difficult years.
The first plans for organizing an Old Settlers association were
written by Washington Ashton and his article appeared in his
paper of October 13, 1860, but nothing further was heard about
it till many years later.
The Old Settlers' Association was definitely organized on
February 13, 1886, at a meeting held in Judge Carey's office in
Duluth, Minnesota, sister city to the city of Superior which is
located just across the St. Louis river which separates the two
states. At this meeting sixteen old settlers gathered to form
plans for an organization with by-laws and a definite purpose in
mind to keep alive the historical past of the region.
One of the objects of the association was the gathering to-
gether and preserving historical material relating to the Head
of the Lakes. Speeches were given by the various members and
copies were kept on file.
The organization of this association created interest in the
long dead Historical Society but it was not till September 20,
1902, that the Superior Historical Society was re-organized. In-
terest continued for four years with enlightening papers being
read at their one meeting a year, but no real collection was made
of historical material. Finally, the organization fell by the way-
side the city was in the throes of another "Boom" and they
had no time for the historical past. They only thought of the
future and ways to make money.
When interest lagged a few members of the Society kept it
alive, especially John A. Bardon, Superior's most outstanding
local historian. He collected a great many objects of historical
significance and continued his work collecting long after every
one else had stopped.
As more and more of the Old-timers were passing on and the
story of Superior's early colorful past was slipping away, interest
was again aroused and the Superior Historical Society was re-
116 WISCONSIN ARGHEQLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
organized in October, 1931, and it was planned that a definite
collection would be started and housed at some central location,
open to the public free of charge. There were a few officers and
charter members of the 1902 Historical Society still living and
they became the most active members of the newly organized
society.
John A. Bardon, the most active member, was made president
and after serving in that capacity for many years was made
honorary historian, which position he held till his death, Febru-
ary 10, 1940.
.Mr. Hardon was a lumberman, mining man, sailor, real estate
operator, banker, insurance man and proprietor of 30 lake tugs
and vessels during his lifetime. Through the years of the early
development of Superior. Mr. Bardon came into close contact with
all its early happenings, and being wise and looking into the
future, he saved such things that would give a story of the com-
munity's early development.
Mr. Bardon was a born collector and museum minded person
who devoted the most interesting years of his life in the way of
gathering invaluable relics, historical pictures and wrote man\
historical sketches of early happenings, folk-lore stories, anec-
dotes, Indian myths, and a host of other material, all of which
he gave to the Museum and is now bound into book form for use
by research workers and students of Superior's early history.
After the necessary reorganization proceedings were carried
out at the meeting in 1931, the Historical Society collected a great
many early relies depicting the history of the region. They were
anxious to secure a place to exhibit them and finally permission
was given to use the third floor of the new Douglas County Court
House. At first ten show-cases were placed in the hall-way on
the third floor and every year a case or two was added to the
museum space at the court house.
In 1934 it was decided that a larger interest in the Society
would be created if the name was changed from Superior His-
torical Society to the Douglas County Historical Society; this
was done November 2, 1934.
Archeological History of Douglas County 117
In 1935 David F. Barry died and his vast collection of Sioux
Indian relics which he had collected on the western plains before
and after the Ouster battle was desired by the Museum. A hur-
ried meeting was called of the officers of the society and an op-
tion on the purchase was asked. The Society finally purchased
the articles and placed them with the others at the Court House.
INTERIOR VIEW OF MUSEUM
Showing portion of Sioux Indian collection collected by Mr. Barry.
Chair in foreground was that belonging to General George A. Cus-
ter, who was killed in the battle of the Little Big Horn.
In 1938, Mrs. A. A. Roth and heirs offered to the society her
large mansion and three lots on John avenue for a Museum. The
county board was approached on taking over this building for a
museum and having it remodeled through WPA help, this was
granted and work started June, 1938, and by February, 1939, the
Museum was ready.
Gerald C. Stowe was hired as curator of the new museum, and
upon his arrival the objects from the court house were moved to
the Museum. New show-cases were built and the many objects
placed on display.
On the opening day two groups of Camp Fire Girls, under the
direction of Miss Lilian Whelan, were dressed in costumes of their
118 WISCONSIN ARGHEQLQGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
grandmothers and great-grandmothers. These girls acted as
guides for the preview and on the opening day.
Since the museum's opening it has made gigantic strides for-
ward, especially along educational lines, research work, collect-
ing of historical information, new exhibits and collecting and
preserving of historical objects.
Lectures are given at the Museum and on the average three
school classes per week visit. The average number of visitors per
month at the Museum numbers well over 1,000.
In the past when WPA workers were at the Museum they
typed a great deal of historical information, this was made into
books and added to the Museum library. Much of this material
was taken from diaries and documents written by Superior's
early settlers. Several thousand historical pictures of early Supe-
rior have been collected and catalogued and filed by the WPA.
The Douglas County Historical Museum has come a long ways
during its first three years and in the future should grow into
one of the most important museums of the state.
One of the best collections which the Museum owns is the
world famous Barry collection of Sioux Indian articles, includ-
ing hundreds of photographs, all of which was collected by David
F. Barry, who was the United States Government photographer
on the western plains for a period of seventeen years, preced-
ing 1890.
Mr. Barry was born March 6th, 1854, at Honeoy Falls, Monroe
county, New York, and in 1861 the Barry family migrated west-
ward, settling first at Ostego, Wisconsin. After remaining for a
year in this city, they moved to Columbus, Ohio, where David
Barry learned the photography profession by acting as water
carrier to an upstairs gallery.
With a yearning for frontier life and with the spirit of high
adventure calling him, young Mr. Barry left for Bismarck, North
Dakota, while yet in his early twenties. When he reached the
frontier, the outbreaks of the Indians were menacing the welfare
Archeological History of Douglas County 119
of the whites. Gaining the confidence of the officers and with his
intimate knowledge of the photography profession, it was not
long before Mr. Barry was on the Government pay-roll. His job
was to take pictures of the frontiersmen and Indians and soon he
was in the thickest of the fray, facing many dangers and having
numerous narrow escapes.
While carrying on his work as Government photographer,
Barry was always on the alert and gathered a great many arti-
facts, articles of clothing, weapons, utilitarian articles, toys,
jewelry and other things used by the Sioux Indians. He made a
close study of the Indians, learning their language, customs, be-
liefs and finally after much effort he gained the confidence of
the Sioux.
The photography work that he carried on was accomplished
after many hardships, expense and in some instances, extreme
danger. Through his foresight in going into the west when he
did to secure photographs of famous Indians and frontiersmen, is
considered a distinct and priceless contribution to the archae-
ological history of the west.
Mr. Barry was called the "Little Shadow Catcher" and be-
cause of this very fact he had to contend with the fears and
superstitions of the Sioux. They believed him to be a "Medicine
Man" who could transplant the human body on a piece of paper.
The braves were afraid that harm would come to them if their
images on the pieces of paper fell in the hands of enemies. On
the other hand, the lesser braves, squaws and young children
were anxious to be the subjects of his mysterious paraphernalia
and were always ready to pose for him.
To overcome the fear of the braves, Mr. Barry would offer
money, trinkets, knives and sometimes his white shirts, the latter
an article of clothing they greatly wanted; if in return they
would permit him to photograph them.
He was able to get pictures of all the prominent Indians ex-
cept "Crazy Horse," who would never allow his picture to be
taken.
120 WISCONSIN ARGHEOLQGIST Vol.23, No. 4
Barry's pictures have been reproduced in practically all the
leading magazines and newspapers in the world and in countless
books. Had it not been for his photographs, history would have
to rely solely on word-pictures of the noblest Indians that ever
lived.
The most remarkable feature of Barry's photographs taken
over sixty years ago is that they are all practically perfect, yet
he had to produce them under adverse conditions. The taking of
each picture then was a scientific experiment. There were no fac-
tory coated plates, or patented developing solutions that worked
in the hands of every novice.
Immediately after he took a picture he had to develop it. He
coated his own plates within a half hour after each picture was
taken.
Mr. Barry's photographs were the only ones ever taken of
some of the historically prominent Sioux Indians, and many of
these were taken after amusing if not dangerous experiences.
The outstanding and most valuable picture of -the Barry col-
lection is one taken of Chief Gall. This picture was taken over
60 years ago and considered the best picture ever taken of an
Indian, and today reproductions of it are hanging in countless
thousands of schools, museums and other public and private
places.
Gall was the master-mind and leader of the Sioux warriors who
swept down on Ouster's command of 264 men at the Little Big
Horn, and wiped it out of existence, June 25th, 1876. Barry's first
photograph of Chief Gall was taken at Fort Buford, immediately
after his capture in the winter of 1880.
With the assistance of money and many negotiations, Chief
Gall was persuaded to have his picture taken, but demanded a
fee of $6.00. Through the influence of a renegade interpreter,
named Alleson, Gall raised the fee to $21.00. Barry agreed to
this sum and when Gall appeared at the gallery in company with
Captain Clifford and Scout Fluery, he refused to listen to sug-
Archeological History of Douglas County 121
gestions as to how to pose and stood before the camera as best
suited him. He pulled his blanket over his head with only his
eyes showing. Realizing that such a picture would be worthless,
Barry gently pulled the blanket down over his shoulders, and
rolled back his shirt, baring his magnificent chest. Gall with a
haughty, scornful attitude eyed Barry with disdain ; at that mo-
ment he snapped his picture.
Later Chief Gall returned to the gallery alone and asked to see
his picture. Being shown the plate, which was all that was fin-
ished he declared that it was "Bad" and that he wanted to de-
stroy it.
Barry in the meantime had placed the plate back in the dark
room and when he refused to get it, the chief started to find it
for himself. Realizing that all his work was about to go for
nothing, the "Little Shadow Catcher" pushed the Indian to one
side. Quick as a flash Gall drew his knife, and as quick the
photographer covered him with his revolver. Pausing for a few
moments in indecision, apparently attempting to fathom the de-
termination of the holder of the revolver, Gall slowly backed out
of the gallery, and the picture was saved.
When Custer's widow saw the portrait of Gall, the pride of the
Barry collection she said :
"Painful as it is for me to look upon the pictured face of an
Indian, I never dreamed in all my life there could be so fine a
specimen of a warrior, as Chief Gall."
"The greatest and strongest Indian face I have ever seen,"
was the comment of Trentanova, famed sculpture of Florence,
Italy, when shown the photograph of Gall.
General Charles King said :
"The photograph of Chief Gall, with his head and body un-
adorned by savage finery of any kind, with the Buffalo robes
thrown back, baring his magnificent torso, is one of the most
striking of all Indian pictures, and it is a speaking likeness too,
looking just as if he had stepped forth to address his people."
122 WISCONSIN ARCHEQLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
Mr. Barry was well known throughout America as an authority
on the Plain's Indians, and many artists, authors and newspaper
men came to him for suggestions when desiring to depict Indian
life.
He knew General George A. Ouster, Major Reno and Benteen
personally and all other United States Army commanders on the
plains before and after the Custer Battle. He also knew every
Indian Chief of prominence of the Sioux tribe and was consid-
ered their best friend.
Mr. Barry, while acting in the capacity as United States Gov-
ernment photographer, took a keen interest in collecting the
various articles used by the Sioux Indians. This collection com-
prises hundreds of articles, guns, revolvers, scalping knives, war
clubs, bows, arrows, buckskin clothing, moccasins, bone imple-
ments, shell ornaments, jewelry, headdresses, war bonnets, bead
and quill work, children's toys and games, tobacco bags, stone
pipes and tobacco tampers, dance flags, dance shields, and many
souvenirs of the Custer Battle.
In 1890 Barry moved from Bismarck, North Dakota, to Supe-
rior, Wisconsin, and he brought all his photographic plates and
his huge Indian collection along with him and placed it on the
walls and in other places in his photography studio so he could
be near the things he had collected and which reminded him of
his adventurous days on the plains.
This collection was for a time on display in New York City,
and in 1902 Mr. Barry was offered $5,000.00 for it but refused to
part with the fruits of his many years of frontier life.
January 15th, 1897, David F. Barry decided to move his studio
and Sioux Indian collection from Superior to New York City so
he would have a much wider field for conducting his photography
business. Something turned up to prevent his leaving, which
proved very fortunate for the Douglas County Historical
Museum.
Mr. Barry died on the day of his birthday at the age of 80,
March 6, 1934, after a short lingering illness. In his will the valu-
Archeological History of Douglas County 123
able collection of photographic plates and vast collection of Sioux
articles were given to his brother in St. Louis.
This collection was to be sold and the Douglas County Histori-
cal Society, realizing that unless prompt action was taken the
collection might be taken from the city, so had officers of the
society take an option on it and immediately went out to raise
the necessary funds.
In a few days letters and telegrams started pouring in from
Museums, groups and individuals from all parts of the country
asking for the privilege of purchasing the Barry Collection.
To retain the collection for the Historical Society it was neces-
sary to raise money, which was done by appealing to patriotic
citizens of the city and county and friends of Mr. Barry. The
response was gratifying and the people realized that a valuable
collection of this sort should not be allowed to leave the city.
With the purchase formally completed, the Society immedi-
ately ordered cases to be built according to specifications pro-
vided by the State Historical Society and these cases were added
to the others which were housed on the third floor of the Douglas
County Court House. Here the collection remained till January
of 1939 when it was moved to the present location in the new
Douglas County Historical Museum, 1827 John avenue.
Among the hundreds of Sioux Indian articles which Mr. Barry
collected, he considered the moccasins he received from Rain-in-
the-Face, the broken rifle of Chief Sitting Bull, and the scalping
knife of Chief Gall as the most noteworthy.
The high esteem in which the photographer was held by the
Indians is shown by the words accompanying the gift of a pair
of moccasins from Chief Rain-in-the-Pace. Mr. Barry was about
to leave for Superior in 1890 when Rain-in-the-Face approached
him. Stooping he took off his moccasins and gave them to him,
saying "Keep them as long as you live and whenever you look
at them, think of Rain-in-the-Face. I have come to say good-bye
to you, and my heart is on the ground." With that the Chief
turned and walked barefoot away.
124 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
Sitting Bull's Winchester rifle which was taken away from
him the day he was captured was presented to Barry by Major
James McLaughlin, Indian agent at Standing Rock, North
Dakota.
About daybreak of December 15, 1890, the Indian policemen,
Bull Head and Red Tomahawk, entered the house of Sitting Bull
to arrest him. Just as he was about to submit, his young seven-
teen year old son. Crow Foot taunted him with these words:
"You are brave in words but when the police are here you act
like a child." Sitting Bull then refused to go and a general fight
ensued. After some scuffling they got Sitting Bull outside the
house. The Indians of the camp started to shoot, one shot struck
Policeman Bull Head, and he turned and shot Sitting Bull. Red
Tomahawk also fired a shot into him and Sitting Bull died almost
instantly.
Crow-Foot rushed back into the house and crawled under a
bunk but was dragged out and shot by the policemen.
Taking Sitting Bull's rifle, the Government agents soon de-
parted from the scene of the killings.
The next spring the two widows of Sitting Bull took their two
daughters and a son to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, to the Red
Cloud Agency to live. One of the wives, "Seen by the Nation,"
was the mother of Crow-Foot, Standing Holy and Sitting Bull Jr.
The other wife, "Her Four Robes," was the mother of "Her
Lodge in Sight."
Outstanding Indian articles in the collection include the Peace
pipe belonging to Chief Gall made of a dark gray slate-like rock.
It has the effigy of a rattlesnake carved around the bowl, with
its head near the top and the tail portion, which is broken off,
attached to the flat base of the pipe. The bowl of the pipe rests
in the middle of a rectangular portion which slants down to a
blunt wedge-shaped bottom which is ornately carved and has
two holes drilled through it.
The scalping knife of Chief Gall's, the same with which he
threatened Barry, is also included in the collection. It is a
wooden handled knife with a blade deeply worn away in a half
circle. Mr. Barry prized this very highly and considered himself
a fortunate man the day he received it from Chief Gall.
Archeological History of Douglas County 125
Of special interest is a large yellow bone scraper belonging to
Chief Gall's wife which is thirteen inches in length, has a curved
handle one and one-half inches in diameter and the scraper end
is three and a half inches long, and is at right angles to the han-
dle. On the underside of the handle and extending along the en-
tire length are a series of dots and long scratches, each dot repre-
senting a buffalo hunt and the scratch mark from one set of dots
to the next indicates the number of buffalo killed at that particu-
lar hunt. Six buffalo hunts are indicated with a total of 65 buf-
falo killed.
The small rolling-pin made of a light wood belonging to Toma
Hawk's wife is very interesting. This is twelve inches long and
the ends are decorated with colored porcupine quill work with
brass tacks in a double row circling the ends of the rolling-pin.
This was used to roll out small cakes which the Indians made.
Six horn spoons of various shapes made from buffalo horn,
some of which have bead work on the handles were used in the
culinary arts. A war bonnet belonging to Yellow Hawk is made
of one-quarter inch strips of leather, five inches long, covered
with red, green and yellow quill work. At the ends are small
brass bells, and when worn it looked much like a large square
fan setting atop his head. Other head-dresses consist of from a
single feather to the large many feathered head ornaments so
often seen in pictures.
The war ornament of "Red Fish's Son" is unique because of
the fact that it is made of dyed deer and horse hair, red, black
and yellow, with a single feather attached to the top. When
worn on the head the deer and horse hair stood upright with the
tall feather in the middle.
Moccasins, both beaded and ornately worked with colored
quills, are included in the collection. Most important of which
belonged to " Rain-in-the-Face, " "Old Crow," "John Grass,"
"Flying Boy," and "Young Man Afraid of His Horses."
Among the children's toys are the bead and quill covered buck-
skin doves. These were made in pairs and given to each new
baby and were thought to bring luck to the child.
The buckskin dolls are very interesting. They are made in
126 WISCONSIN ARCHEQLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
exact replica and dressed exactly like the Sioux girls and boys
of that period. One which belonged to "Two Bear's Daughter,"
has a beaded jacket, a red porcupine quill band around the waist
and a fringed buckskin beaded shirt with beaded moccasins and
leggings. From her ears hang long elephant tusk shell ear or-
naments and on top of her head is another shell ornament. The
buckskin doll belonging to "Standing Holy," "Sitting Bull's lit-
tle girl, has a fringed buckskin shirt with quill leggings. From her
head hangs a small gopher tail ornament. To go with the dolls
are Doll Teepees, the one belonging to Standing Holy, having
paintings of w r arriors on the outside.
The Ghost Dance Flags of orange and white cloth which Sit-
ting Bull used in his medicine ceremonies before the Ouster Bat-
tle were buried by him, but Sitting Bull's brother-in-law pointed
out the spot to Barry and told him to dig them up if he wished
them.
The small eighteen-inch diameter leather covered shield used
by Sitting Bull in the Ghost Dance is one of the outstanding arti-
cles in the collection which depicts a very high type of Indian
art. Painted on the outside surface are three horses, two of
which are facing each other between them is a four-pointed blue
star and above their heads, a blue and white crescent moon. The
horses have men's heads with a single horn and a four-pointed
star on the top. From their mouths a streak of lightning is pour-
ing forth and striking the blue clouds above. Over the horses'
backs are two large birds, black in color with jagged streaks of
lightning coming from their beaks and striking the horses at the
base of the neck. At the bottom of the shield, the third horse
stands with a double streak of lightning coming from his mouth.
The significance of the figures on this shield are not known, but
its story must be a very fascinating and interesting one since it
was painted by Sitting Bull himself.
Before and during the Ouster Battle, Chief Sitting Bull was
up in the hills carrying on his religious ceremonies and he did
not take part in the conflict. Other things from this famous medi-
cine man are his table utensils, knife, fork and spoon, his tin cup
which he used for coffee and soup, his iron fife given to Mr.
Barry by his wife ; his looking-glass frame, one of his pipes, a
Archeological History of Douglas County 127
pipe tamper and a long buckskin beaded pipe bag with porcu-
pine decorations on the bottom fringe.
Two of Crow-Foot's red catlinite pipes, one a solid tomahawk
stone pipe, and the other with a beaded stem trimmed with horse
hair and his moccasins taken from his feet after he was killed,
are included in the collection along with many articles from Sit-
ting Bull's wives and other children.
The many stone pipes are made in the conventional Sioux Calu-
met style. Some have solid stems, others with quill covered
wooden ones. One pipe belonging to "Running Antelope" has
the effigy of a spotted toad carved on the stem. Rain-in-the-
Face 's large red stone pipe, presented to Barry in 1889 at Stand-
ing Rock, North Dakota, has the stem covered with colored quill
work.
Other articles included a great many beaded and quill covered
buckskin knife sheaths, the rifle of Rain-in-the-Face, the rifle,
powder horn and human scalp lock belonging to Chief Crow
King, several whips and beaded bags of all sizes, awl cases,
beaded belts, beaded drum stricks and other things too numer-
ous to mention.
The long Elephant Tusk shell ear ornaments belonging to
"Shooting Star" and her necklace made of the same type of
shells are among the prized pieces of jewelry. Other pieces in-
clude the large bead bracelet belonging to "Dark Eyes" and the
one of large green and white beads belonging to Chief Gall's
wife. "Walking Cow's" necklace is made of small brass beads.
Mr. Barry collected many things from the Custer Battle of
June 25, 1876. Most noted of which is the folding camp chair
belonging to General George A. Custer and carried by him on
all his expeditions. This was presented to Barry by Mr. Cannon,
Postmaster at Fort Abraham Lincoln, North Dakota.
Other things include a watch taken from a dead soldier on the
battlefield and given to Barry by an Indian at Fort Assinaboine,
Montana.
Several .45 Colt revolvers used by Custer 's men and taken by
the Indians after the battle, several cartridges and a carbine
taken by "Cotton Man" are included in the collection.
128 WISCONSIN ARGHEOLOGIST Vol.23, No. 4
The entire Barry collection is grouped in new show cases in
one large room on the first floor of the Douglas County Historical
Museum and annually thousands of people from all over the
world come expressly to view them. They constitute the most
important archaeological display at the Museum.
Much could be told on the other interesting and rare displays
at the Museum but space does not permit in this article. The
museum in its displays, research work, early photographs, is try-
ing to bring out the story of the early historical past of the Head
of the Lakes Region. The Museum is fast becoming one of the
really important educational and cultural centers of Superior
and Douglas County.
Orra L. Hollister 129
ORRA L. HOLLISTER
Charles E. Brown
Orra L. Hollister, Wisconsin Archeologist, died at the Johnson
Emergency hospital at Milwaukee, on Friday, August 14th, 1942.
Mr. Hollister became a member of the state society when it was
an active section of the Wisconsin Natural History Society, in
1901.
When The Wisconsin Archeological Society was organized, on
April 3, 1903, he was one of its charter members.
For many years the deceased was very active in the work and
councils of the Society. He served as its president in the years
1911 to 1912 succeeding President Arthur AVenz. During these
earliest years of the Society's history he was active in its field
work then undertaken in the Waukesha County townships of
Mukwonago, Vernon and Muskego. Of the men actively identi-
fied with these early researches, Edgar E. Teller, Dr. Charles D.
Stanhope, Eolland L. Porter, George A. West, William H. Ells-
worth, Charles E. Wood, A. F. Laue and P. 0. Griste, all are now
dead. In the years following, Mr. Hollister seized an opportunity
to make a noteworthy collection of Indian stone implements and
potsherds from a village site then located on the present site of
Mitchell Park at Milwaukee. On the contents and significance
of this collection he spoke at one of the Society's regular monthly
meetings.
At the time of his death Mr. Hollister was president of the
Federal Malleable Iron Co. at West Allis, which he helped to
found in 1902. He was also president of the First National Bank
at West Allis for the past fifteen years.
Although he was heavily burdened with business cares during
the last years of his life his keen interest in the Society and its
work never lagged. We are pleased to pay this last tribute of
love and respect to a devoted and helpful friend of many years'
standing.
130 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 4
Archeological Notes
The fall program of the Society opened with an informal meeting and
social at the Pabst Sternewirt, September 21, 1942.
On October 19th, 1942, Mr. Robert Ritzenthaler of the staff of the Mil-
waukee Public Museum gave a very interesting lecture on the Chippewa
Indians of Northern Wisconsin. Mr. Ritzenthaler, in conjunction with
representatives of Columbia University, have spent several summers
among the Chippewas.
Our meeting held at the Milwaukee Public Museum on November 16th
was well attended. Miss Mary Vandenbergh told of her study of Indian
beadwork, and feather work. Many specimens were exhibited with an
interesting description as to how they were made. Many authentic arti-
cles were also shown by Miss Vandenbergh.
It is with regret that our Society reports the passing of the following
members during the summer and early fall.
Mr. O. L. Hollister, West Allis, Wis.
Dr. Louise P. Kellogg, Madison, Wis.
Mr. Lewis Scanlon.
Mr. O. W. Malmgren, Rice Lake, Wis.
Mrs. George West, Milwaukee, Wis.
New members taken into the Society were:
Miss Edith Heidner, West Bend, Wis. Annual member.
Mr. Albert Vidas, West Allis, Wis. Life member.
Mrs. Albert Vidas, West Allis, Wis. Annual member.
List of errata to accompany No. 3, Vol. 23, of the Wisconsin Archae-
ologist. "Ornamented Coppers of the Wisconsin Area."
p. 50, line 5; for "Doudeman" read Boudeman.
p. 59, line 7; for "with a nail hole" read with a circular nail hole.
line 12; for "often" read of ten.
line 29; for "described" read ornamented.
line 31; for "f" read "f-j".
line 33; for "i" read "1".
line 34; for "i" read "1".
p. 60; description of Fig. 1; for "comman" read common.
for "f-g, Rare three-row figure" read f-j, Rare three-row figures,
p. 61, line 21; for Fig. 1, "e" read Fig. 1, "c".
p. 68, line 29; for Fig. 1, "i" read Fig. 1, "1".
p. 73, line 18; for "with row" read with a roW.
p. 75, lines 6 and 7; for Fig. 1, "1" read Fig. 1, "i".
p. 76, line 28; for "been in Illinois" read found in Illinois,
p. 83, lines 26 and 31 ; for "indentions" read indentations,
p. 84, line 8; for "Dakots" read Dakota.
The auther regrets that during publication- of the above named trea-
tise, he was given no opportunity to correct either the text or the ar-
rangement of the illustrations.
Vetal Winr
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
1874 N. 40th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
24 Jflarcl), 1943
Butterflies and the American Indian
Indian Trade Finger Rings
Report of the Committee for Codefying Types of
Archeological Sites in Wisconsin
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.50 PER YEAR
Entered as 2d clow matter at the P. O. at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
January 28, 1921, under the Act of August 21, 1912.
Cfje Wisconsin &rd)eoiogt0t
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
1874 N. 40th St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
VOLUME 24, No. 1
1943
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
Page
Butterflies and the American Indian 1
Nancy Oestreich
Indian Tr.ade Finger Rings 7
Charles E. Brown
Report of the Committee for Codefying Types of Archeologieal
Sites in Wisconsin... _ 10
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
MILWAUKEE
3rrlKoiogiral
Incorporated March 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study
and preservation of Wisconsin antiquities
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Chas. E. Brown
VICE PRESIDENTS
A. P. Kannenberg Dr. A. K. Fisher W. K. Andrew
Louis Pierron Kermit Freckman
DIRECTORS
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Dr. W. H. Brown
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
Erwin G. Burg
Walter Bubbert
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
W. E. Erdman
John G. Gregory
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
Zida C. Ivey
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
Dr. A. L. Kastner
B. W. Knoblock
J. J. Knudsen
A. E. Koerner
W. C. McKern
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
T. L. Miller
Robert Ritzenthaler
C. G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
J. P. Schumacher
V. S. Taylor
Vetal Winn
G. R. Zilisch
TREASURER
G. M. Thorne
917 N. Forty-ninth Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR
Robert B. Hartman
1874 N. Fortieth Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Robert Ritzenthaler G. M. Thorne
COMMITTEES
REGULAR
STATE SURVEY W. C. McKern, Robert Ritzenthaler, A. P. Kan-
nenberg, Kermit Freckman, Robert R. Jones, J. P. Schumacher,
Vetal Winn, Wm. K. Andrew, Frank M. Neu, J. P. Barr, Dr.
Philleo Nash, Virginia Drew, M. F. Hulbert, W. E. Erdman, Dr.
P. H. Nesbitt
MOUND PRESERVATION Walter Bubbert, H. O. Zander, C. A.
Koubeck, Louis Pierron. A. C. Fiedler, Mrs. W. J. Devine, T. L.
Miller, Arthur W. Quan, R. S. Zigman, Louis N. Skavlem. Mary
M. Vandenberg, H. R. Bullock- V. G. Jackson.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS Nile C. Behncke, Dr. Ira Edwards, Dr.
Elmer Nelson, Frederic Heath, Marie C. Kohler, Marvel Ings,
G. C. Stowe, Zida C. Ivey, Dr. F. S. Dayton, R. N. Buckstaff, Mark
H. Knight, N. W. Roeder, Alonzo Pond, Jens Jacobsen.
MEMBERSHIP G. M. Thome, Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Dr. A. L. Kastner,
Mrs. Theodore Koerner, Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, Dr. L. S.
Buttles, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich, M. G. Schmidt, J. K.
Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS Walter Bubbert, C. L. Harr-
ington, W. E. Scott, Victor S. Taylor, Walter Holsten, Mrs. Robert
E. Friend.
PUBLICITY Mrs Wm. K. Andrew, R. B. Hartman, H. J. Kent,
Mrs. A. E. Koerner, A. O. Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlan, P^nothy
M. Brown.
SPECIAL
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Robert Ritzenthaler, C. G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell.
PUBLICATIONS Robert B. Hartman, A. E. Koerner, Dr. H. W.
Kuhm, G. M. Thome, R. S. Van Handel.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Walter Bubbert, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Jean Bara.
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A.
Barrett, C. G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Endowment Members, $600.00
Sustaining Members, $5.00 Annual Members, $2.00
Institutional Members, $1.50 Junior Members, $ .50
All communications in regard to The Wisconsin Archeological Society should
be addressed to Robert B. Hartman, 1874 N. 40th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be addressed to him. Dues
should be sent to G. M. Thome, Treasurer, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin &rct)eologtst
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 24 No. 1
MILWAUKEE, WIS., MARCH, 1943
New Series.
BUTTERFLIES AND THE AMERICAN INDIAN
Nancy Oestreich
Butterflies and moths of no less than 9,500 species are
found in North America from the lowest valleys and the hot-
test tropics to the highest peaks and the frozen Artie. Their
amazing and almost unbelievable variety of hues and the
dance-like motion of their flight have long fascinated those
who have observed them. Even to the most unimaginative
these unusual insects seem to be the closest to perfection in
Mother -Nature 's art.
It is but natural that the butterflies' beauty of color and
form, their flower loving habits, the manner of their flying,
their mimicry, and abundance at certain times of the year
should have made a deep impression on the mind of the Amer-
ican Indian. Thus it is that in the course of centuries the
butterfly and the moth have found a place in his mythology,
his religion, social organization, folklore, superstitions, arts
and recreation.
Butterfly Designs
American archeologists have collected from Indian village
sites and burial places a class of prehistoric ceremonial ob-
jects, to which, because many of them resemble a butterfly
with spread wings, the name " butterfly stones" has often
been given. They are most abundant in the Midwest states
where many cleverly fashioned specimens made of such beau-
tiful native stones as banded slate, granite, syenite, porphyry,
quartz, quartzite, calcite and rose quartz have been found.
These artifacts are also known as " banner stones," and as
they have a long perforation running the length of the body
part, may indicate that they had been mounted on short wood-
en handles or had been worn as amulets.
2 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 1
Archeologists have also found triangular and other shaped
figures on the walls of caves or on the surfaces of boulders,
which with similar drawings, and carvings may be symbolic
representations of the butterfly.
Conventionalized and realistic patterns denoting the butter-
fly and moth still appear on the painted pottery, the basketry,
the bead work, the woven fabrics and the various other artis-
tically adorned articles of various Indian tribes.
One of the most characteristic modern decorations employed
by the Hopi, especially as a symbol of fecundity, is the but-
terfly or moth. It is a constant device on the beautiful white
blankets woven by the men as wedding gifts, where it is em-
broidered on the margin in the form of simple triangles or in
more realistic patterns. A line drawn bisecting one of the
angles of a triangle produces an easily recognizable butterfly
design. This double triangle is not only a decoration used on
wedding blankets, but also is seen on the dadoes of houses, and
likewise is a feature of cliff house 'kivas.'
While an isosceles triangle represents the simplest form of
the butterfly symbol, and is common on ancient pottery, a
few vessels from Sityatki show a much more lifelike figure.
Some of these are shown with an extended proboscis and ar-
ticulated antennae. Sometimes the proboscis is inserted into
a flower.
On some Zuni pottery the butterfly is found in association
with tadpole, dragonfly and frog symbols. The whole group
illustrates a story of the coming of summer. The tadpole stands
for the pools of early spring, the dragonflies hovering over
and the frogs maturing in the pools typify the rains of later
summer. When the butterfly replaces the dragonfly or alter-
nates with it, it symbolizes the beneficence of the season.
The butterfly symbol appears on the so-called 'Hokona' or
butterfly virgin slab used in the antilope ceremonies of the
snake dance at Walpi where it is associated with tadpole wa-
ter signs.
Butterflies and the American Indian
Superstitions and Beliefs
Among some tribes there is a common belief that if a butter-
fly enters the wigwam, it signifies good luck, the blessings
of the spirits or sunny days to follow. This is also true in
some cases if it alights on a person.
Wisconsin Winnebago children were taught that to rescue
a butterfly or moth from a spider web or drowning was a good
deed which would bring a spirit reward. Oddly enough it
was thought that birds might catch such insects, as all were
" winged ones" and belonged to each other.
In the semi-arid Southwest the butterfly holds a partic-
ular distinction as it is believed to bring the warm growing
season from the "Land of the Everlasting Summer." Also in
the Southwest, one of the ancient Hopi clans regards the but-
terfly as its totem. Among the Zuni it is believed that Pa-ya-
tami, god of music, butterflies and flowers, could call the but-
terflies from everywhere by playing his magic flute. Some
Indian tribes think of the butterflies as fairy folk or the mes-
sengers of certain spirits.
Superstitious rites and healing have long gone hand in hand
in the beliefs of the American Indian, and so it is in the case
of the plant Asclepias tuberosa, nick-named "butterfly weed"
because of its attraction to those insects. The Menominee use
the pounded root of this plant as a poultice for bruises, swell-
ings and lameness. A decoction of the root is taken as a tonic
and is called by a name which means "butterfly medicine."
When the root is dug a tobacco offering is made to Earth
Mother.
Butterfly Games
Butterfly games of several kinds were played by children
of various Indian tribes. Members of the Mississippi and
Mille Lac bands of Chippewa regarded the butterfly as the
"spirit of childish play," and often used it as a decoration of
children's articles and on birchbark transparencies.
The White Earth Chippewa stated that children were never
allowed to destroy butterflies, and they were taught to call
4 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 1
them to join in their games, especially in the game of hide
and seek. A child would hold its nose between thumb and
fingers and run calling, ' ' Me-e-mem-gwe " (butterfly). The
term used for butterfly is "memingwa," but is pronounced
in the peculiar way indicated when playing the game. There
are those who say they have seen the butterflies come when
the children called them in this manner.
Another hide and seek game was preceded by the drawing
of lots. Four sticks were prepared, one of which was longer
than the others. The longer was about 3 inches and the rest
about two and three-eighths inches, the four being tied to-
gether with basswood fiber. These sticks were held by one of
the children and each of his companions would draw one. The
child who drew the long stick was the one to cover his eyes
while the others hid. When all was ready he began his search
singing in the nasal way explained above, calling to the but-
terflies to show him where to go.
Apparently all tribes did not attribute the same degree of
prestige to the butterfly, as the Potawatomi children of north-
ern Wisconsin played a game with saddle blankets to catch
them. When a flock of butterflies would settle on the ground
a blanket would be thrown over them and the child to catch
the most this way was the winner of the game. No doubt the
insects in this game were the common yellow sulphur butter-
flies which alight on damp patches of ground.
The Menominee children played a simple ' * calling the butter-
flies '' game in which a group of little folk would walk into a
field where many Fall wild flowers were in bloom, and but-
terflies of several species would be hovering overhead. Each
child would break off a number of flower stalks and stand a
distance apart from one another, holding the flowers at about
the level of his or her head. If a butterfly rested on the flow-
er held by one of the children, that child was happy because it
brought good luck as well as signified the winner of the
game.
Butterflies and The American Indian
Butterfly Legends
Many interesting legends have been told about the butter-
fly and moth which fact can be readily understood. Among
the Menominee there is the story that a band of them were
camped in the Stevens Point region on the Wisconsin River
and they had no maple sugar. One night a woman dreamed
that there was a forest of maple trees not far away. The
next morning she and her husband set out to try and find
this woodland. As they walked along a little red butterfly
rose from the brush and fluttered before them. It flew to
the trunk of a large tree from which sap was flowing and which
proved to be a maple tree. The man cut a gash in the trunk
with his hatchet and inserted a piece of wood for a spile,
while the woman fashioned a bark bucket to place beneath
it. They found other maple trees nearby, so the Menominee
people were able to obtain an abundant supply of sap for
sugar making. The butterfly guide was the one which we call
the red admiral as he wears red bands on his wings. He is
about early in spring.
There are butterfly tales to be found among every Indian
tribe, but they are probably most numerous in the desert-like
areas of the Southwest where the agricultural people depend
upon the spring and summer rains to grow their crops. The
butterfly is believed by them to be a harbinger of spring and
the rainy season.
The Cochiti have a myth of two girls who met with many
wonderful adventures when they ran after a butterfly in
hopes of capturing it in order to copy its beautiful designs
on their pottery.
The Cochiti also tell a story of a Great Butterfly, apparent-
ly a spirit, which on one occasion brought various articles of
clothing for a long journey to a girl whose husband had been
killed in battle. She wished to return to her people in Cochiti
and so she implored the deity, Corn Mother, to help her re-
turn home, and it was Corn Mother who asked the Great But-
terfly to bring the girl mantas and moccasins necessary for
the trip.
3 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 1
Another southwestern tribe, the Cuahilla of California have
a myth about two brothers, Mukat and Tamailoit, who created
the earth, people, the ocean, rain, tobacco, the sun, the moon
and the animals. Mukat built a place in the East for the spir-
its of the dead. He made a road with a gate at its end Just
beyond the gate were two hills, constantly moving apart and
then together. Monyakwet, a man who never dies, guarded this
entrance. As the hill moved apart, an opening was made
through which the spirits could enter. If the spirit had been
wicked during his lifetime, he was caught and crushed be-
tween these hills, and then became a butterfly, a bat or a rock.
In the mountains of northern New Mexico, a Picuris Pueblo
children's story tells of Sphynx Moth and Old Coyote. Coy-
ote is the traditional villian, so Syhynx Moth is out to trick
his enemy. In an apparently innocent conversation Sphynx
Moth says that he has his dead grandmother in a sack he
is carrying and he is taking her to the distant southeast to
bury her. The stupid Coyote, not to be outdone, gets his own
grandmother and goes along. When they arrive at the shrine
of ' * Kan-in-ai, " where the moth was really going to offer
plumeros or feather bunches, Coyote finally sees that his
companion's sack is filled with plumeros. This of course
makes him furious at having been so tricked, and when Sphynx
Moth laughingly flies away before he can retaliate, Coyote
returns home, muttering angrily about the accursed Sphynx
Moth, and how he had needlessly done away with his grand-
mother.
Thus we note that the butterfly and moth found a place
in the culture of practically every Indian tribe. However,
there is little wonder that these lovely creatures should have
a place of importance in the life of the ever artistically alert
American Indian.
Indian Trade Finger Rings
INDIAN TRADE FINGER RINGS
Charles E. Brown
Director, Wisconsin Historical Museum
A not unimportant article of Indian trade jewelry during
the French Regime in Wisconsin (1634-1763) were the brass
finger rings which appear to have been included in the stock
of every trader. These rings, made of brass, were cheap and
rather fragile. Their seals were crudely engraved, or orna-
mented with small figures or devices in relief. Many of them
are of small sizes and designed to be worn by women and
girls. It is likely that most of them were obtained by the
traders in Montreal and were manufacturered there.
Finger rings of this character have been found on the sites
of early trading posts, with burials in Indian graves, and
among the debris of old camp and village sites in Wisconsin.
Specimens of these are in public and private collections in
Wisconsin. As yet almost nothing has been written about
these rings.
An opportunity has presented itself to examine a small num-
ber of these trade rings in the collection of the Wisconsin His-
torical Museum. These were obtained from a number of dif-
ferent sites. These I will attempt to describe for the infor-
mation of Wisconsin archeologists and collectors.
Two of these brass circlets come from the famous old In-
dian village site at the Red Banks on the shore of Green
Bay, in Door County. Both are narrow, thin, flat brass bands
increasing slightly in width as they reach the seal. They are
about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. The seal of one
ring is small and oval in form, the oval upright. On its surface
is a crudely engraved heart. A number of cut or filed grooves
are on the band on either side of the seal. The oval seal of
the second ring has a smaller heart which is enclosed in a
square.
Nine other crude brass rings were collected by several dif-
ferent persons from an old Indian camp and trading post site
.8 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 1
located on Minnesota Point, Lake Superior, opposite the
city of Superior. All of these rings are of small size, measur-
ing from five-eighths to three-fourths of an inch in diameter.
All are thin and narrow bands of brass. Three have heart-
shaped seals, each with a different letter engraved on the seal.
One has a "V", one an "N", and one the letters "LI." One
has a rouletted border surrounding the letter. Two have oc-
tagon-shaped seals. Engraved on these are the letters "M"
and "FI" enclosed within a rouletted border. The one bear-
ing the letter "M" has what appears to be a figure of a
crawling snake engraved in the space above the letter. This
ring is one inch in diameter and is probably a man's ring. An-
other specimen has an octagon seal with the engraved letter
"P" enclosed within a rouletted border. A fragmentary
ring has an oval seal and on it, in relief, a cross and the let-
ters "IHS." These are enclosed in an oval beaded border.
A plain brass circlet has minutely serrated edges, and faint
ornamental triangular and other scratches on the band. This
ring is three-fourths of an inch in diameter. A small brass
ring is five-eighths of an inch in diameter. Diagonal grooves
are on the bands on either side of the un-ornamented narrow
rectangular seal.
From an Indian site at Sheboygan was obtained a brass ring
with an oval seal bearing the figure of a saint, in relief. This
ring is seven-eights of an inch in diameter. I have seen others
bearing the same figure.
A heavy, thick brass ring was found with an Indian burial
in Madison Township, Dane County. The band is ornamented
with two parallel encircling engraved lines. It is seven-
eighths of an inch in diameter. It belongs to a later trade
period than the foregoing rings.
Plain brass rings, well made and substantial in character,
are of common occurrence in Indian graves. These have slight-
ly convex upper surfaces and are like modern gold rings.
These were in the stocks of American Fur Company posts.
Indian Trade Finger Rings
Some rings of this character in the state museum came from
the early Grignon-Borlier trading post at Butte des Morts,
near Oshkosh. All are of large size. These were sewed side
by side on thin sheets of paper, twenty-four on a sheet, six
in a row.
An account book of Frances X Des Noyers, a Green Bay
trader, under date of 1844, shows that the Indians then paid
25 cents for a brass ring.
A few trade rings have been found that have or had colored
glass jewel sets. These were used by some American traders.
Members of the Wisconsin Archeological Society who pos-
sess trade rings are requested to communicate with the writer
in order that they may be examined.
10 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 1
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE FOR CODEFYING TYPES
OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES IN WISCONSIN
The task confronting this Committee was that of preparing
for the consideration of the Society a code or system of sym-
bols to be used in recording Wisconsin archeological sites by
location, type, and number. Several arguments may be pre-
sented in support of such a system. First, it would eliminate
from our records duplication of site names. At present, many
of the Wisconsin sites are known by more than a single name :
for example, Lapham 's Crawf ordsville Group is also the Dewey
Group ; or a single name may be employed for more than one
site : for example, there are at least two sites bearing the name
Dewey. Second, it would immediately supply a name for any
given site without long consideration of various proposed
titles, without arguments and conflicts over the choice of
names, and without such resulting unusual, often jaw-breaker
titles as "Nitschke," "Kletzien," or ' ' Isringhausen. " Third,
it would serve to encourage and facilitate a much-needed, thor-
ough checking on the exact location of sites, including both
those which have been reported and others which will be re-
ported in the future. When this task is undertaken, it will
be found that the same site has in instances been reported as
at various locations, even in two different counties, and under
several distinct names. Fourth, the members of this Commit-
tee share the conviction that the introduction of such a sys-
tem would greatly encourage archeological research by many
of the members of our Society, since it would offer the oppor-
tunity of library research in checking locations and data on
sites in published or otherwise recorded reports, without the
necessity of the travel and expense usually involved in re-
search work and impossible to many of our active members.
The argument that the adoption of such a code would de-
stroy old terms which have historical and traditional value,
which have through long usage become accepted and locally
standard, does not apply. Our literature is full of such terms,
and to destroy them would damage the value of most of the
old reports. The code would serve only to identify sites bear-
Report of Committee for Codefying. 11
ing traditional names with the standardized statewide sur-
vey; it would add a code symbol to the site without in any
way changing the old term.
The general method under consideration is not original
with this Society. It has been officially adopted in a consid-
erable number of states in the greater Mississippi Valley, and
has long been in use in such states as Illinois and Tennessee.
It is not, therefore, an untried method; to the contrary, its
practical usefulness has been demonstrated repeatedly in
neighboring and other states within our own archeological
province. Inasmuch, therefore, as we have the peculiar ad-
vantage of benefiting by the experiments and experience of
archeologists in other states where the virtue of this method
has been successfully demonstrated, since the tendency to
adopt it appears to be a rapidly growing one throughout the
Mississippi Valley, and since wide standardization in methods
and resulting terminology is of primary importance in the
American archeological field, the Committee first recom-
mends the adoption by this Society of this general method.
This method supplies code symbols for sites, each symbol
made up of three units. The first unit relates to location and
is nothing more than an abbreviation of the name of the coun-
ty in which the site occurs. The second unit indicates the
type of site, identifying it as a group of mounds, a village site,
or some other type of site. The third unit supplies a number to
the site, each type of site in each county having its own inde-
pendent series of numbers, starting with "1." For example:
the Teller Mound Group in Milwaukee County might be des-
ignated by "Mi3," in which case the "Mi" would symbolize
Milwaukee County; the "," a mound site; and the "3," the
fact that it was the third mound site recorded on the perma-
nent records for the county.
The Committee's immediate duties, therefore, have been:
(1) to devise a complete series of abbreviations for the coun-
ties in Wisconsin, and (2) to select a series of unit symbols to
represent the types of sites important in the Wisconsin field.
12 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 1
The first of these tasks was not easy. If each county
name had an initial letter differing from that of all other
counties, the task would have been simply solved by select-
ing this initial letter as the symbol. However, there are, for
example, eight county names beginning with "W." There
are similar instances of duplications in the first two letters,
the first and last letter, or any other standard combination
of letters in these names. Consequently, the letters adopted
for each county must be arbitrarily selected. However, it was
found that not more than two letters would be required for
the symbol, and it was decided to represent all counties by
two letters for the sake of consistency. The first of these
naturally and logically would be the initial letter. It became
apparent that the second letter would have to be selected for
one of several reasons, depending upon the peculiarities of the
word. The first two letters in the name in many instances,
seem to serve our purposes as well as any two letters, but
where more than one county name have the same two initial
letters, or where another combination of letters promised to
serve our purposes to greater advantage, other selectioins were
made. It was deemed important, where practical, to choose
letters that are suggestive of the sound of the entire name.
Some county names are compounded of two words, such as
"Eau Claire," and the initial letters of the first and second
parts of the name serve ideally as a designating symbol : as
"Ec" for Eau Claire. Some county names have standard-
ized abbreviations: such as "la" for Iowa. Some have a
highly accented last syllable, such as "Burnett;" and Calu-
met;" In these instances, where no conflicts were encounter-
ed, the first and last letters were adopted as the symbol : as
"Bt" for Burnett.
It is not contended that another series of county symbols
could not be selected which would serve equally as well as
that submitted by the Committee, but this series is the prod-
uct of careful and logical consideration, and in addition to
serving the intended purpose, will be more easily associated
by sound with the county name represented and, consequently
more easily remembered by workers and readers than letters
Report of Committee for Codefying.
13
selected on a wholly arbitrary basis. Following is the pro-
posed list of county abbreviations.
Adams Ad
Ashland As
Barron Bn
Bayfield Ba
Brown Br
Buffalo Bf
Burnett Bt
Calumet Ct
Chippewa ... Ch
Clark Cl
Columbia .... Co
Crawford Cr
Dane Da
Dodge Do
Door Dr
Douglas Dg
Dunn Dn
Eau Claire ... EC
Florence Fl
Fond du Lac . Fd
Forest Fr
Grant Gt
Green Gr
Green Lake . . Gl
Eowa la
Iron Ir
Jackson Ja
Jeffersen .... Je
Juneau Ju
Kenosha .... Kn
Kewaunee . . . Ke
La Crosse . . . Lc
Lafayette .... Lt
Langlade .... Lg
Lincoln Li
Manitowoc . . Mn
Marathon . . . Mr
Marinette . . . Mt
Marquette . . Mq
Milwaukee . . Mi
Monroe .... Mo
Oconto Oc
Oneida On
Outagamie . . . Ou
Ozaukee .... Oz
Pepin Pe
Pierce Pi
Polk . , Pk
Portage Pt
Price Pr
Eacine Ea
Eichland Ei
Eock Eo
Rusk Eu
St. Croix Sc
Sauk Sk
Sawyer Sy
Shawano .... Sw
Sheboygan . . Sb
Taylor Ta
Trempealeau . Tr
Vernon Ve
Vilas Vi
Walworth . . . Wl
Washburn . . Wb
Washington . Wt
Waukesha . . Wk
Waupaca . . . Wp
Waushara . . . Ws
Winnebago . . Wn
Wood . Wo
The following simple symbols were selected to represent the
types of archeological sites present in Wisconsin. These sym-
bols are for the most part the same as those previously stan-
dardized in other states, but include a few which relate to
types of sites which apparently are not included in the code
symbols adopted elsewhere. Care was taken to select no sym-
bol which is not present on any typewriter. All of these symbols
should be written in a raised position relative to the regular
alinement of letters, like that of a degree or apostrophe mark.
This creates a natural break, without the necessity of space
or punctuation, between the county-name and site-type sym-
bols.
14 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 1
Types of Mounds and Their Symbols
Occupational : villages, camps and workshops v
Mounds (general) o
Effigy mounds (present) e
Cemeteries (independent of mounds) x
Caves or rock shelters c
Quarries or mines q
Petroglyphs p
The third unit in the code symbol consists of the number
arbitrarily given to the individual site in the type series with-
in the county. Thus, for each county there are as many sep-
arate series of site numbers, each beginning with "1," as
there are types of sites in that county. For example, in Mil-
waukee County the first village site recorded would be
"Mivl;" the first mound site, "Mi !;" the first cemetery,
"Mixl," and so on. These numbers would arbitrarily be
assigned to sites regardless of the time when they were first
named or reported; for example, a site reported by Lapham
might be given the number "70," whereas one first reported
this year might receive the number "1." This type of non-
historical number sequence is necessary in order to permit
those authorized to assign numbers and record sites by code
to progress regularly with their work as the necessary re-
checking of site data is completed.
The Committee recommends the adoption of the system of
code symbols herewith submitted. Futhermore, the Committee
recommends that a permanent Committee on Codefying Wis-
consin Archeological Sites be appointed, and that it shall be
the duty of this Committee: (1) to receive reports on the de-
tailed location and character of archeological sites within
the state, from whatever source, including resurveys or au-
thentications of previously reported sites; (2) to thoroughly
investigate the accuracy of these reports, and to accept or re-
ject on a basis of accuracy; (3) to systematically record
and permanently file the accepted site data; (4) to assign a
code symbol to each site, and file the symbol with the site
Report of Committee for Codefying. 15
data; (5) to chart each codefied site on a master map or sys-
tem of maps; and (6) to answer all requests for information
on codefied sites.
Respectfully submitted, April 20, 1942
W. C. McKERN (Chairman
KERMIT FRECKMANN
ERWIN G. BURG
(Note : The proposals detailed in this report were recom-
mended for adoption by the Board of Trustees in regular ses-
sion, and adoption was voted at the general meeting which
followed.)
16 WISCONSIN AECHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 1
Archeological Notes
It is with great pleasure that we have to report the fine programs
our society has had during this winter season. At the December
meeting Mr. Robert Ritzenthaler arranged to have an Oneida Indian,
Mr. Oscar Archiquette, speak concerning the customs of his people.
He made a special plea for a high school at Oneida. He won the
hearts of his listeners with his straightforward remarks.
Mr. Herbert Cornell gave a fine address on the Rise and Martyr-
dom of the Cherokee Indians. To say the least his lecture was well
received, and many interesting questions were asked of him at its
close.
Under the title 'The Archeological Picture Develops" Mr. W. C.
McKern gave an epoc making address to our society. It is hoped
that Mr. McKern will arrange to publish his remarks so that all
can benefit by it. The picture comprised the whole of continental
United States and parts of Alaska and northern Mexico.
We are pleased to welcome the following into membership of the
society :
Miss Mary B. Heimich, Milwaukee, an annual member.
Mr. E. K. Petrie, Chicago, 111., an annual member.
Mr. Albert Vidas, West Allis, a life member.
Mrs. Albert Vidas, West Allis. an annual member.
Mr. Ernest Schug, Milwaukee, an annual member.
Mr. Harry Butz, Jr., Milwaukee, an annual member.
Our society recently received a gift of a complete set of the Wis-
consin Archeologist from Dan Hollister, son of our late member,
O. L. Hollister.
Again we wish to urge all of our members to report to the secre-
tary any tampering or contemplated destruction of any Indian camp-
site or mound in their neighborhood.
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
County Surveyor, Office: Court House
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
24 gtme, 1943 $to, 2
Bird-Stone Ceremonial Found on Skull
A Village of Clam Eaters
Indian Drills and Reamers
Rain Legends and Beliefs
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.50 PER YEAR
Entered as 2d class matter at the P.O. at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
January 28, 1921, under the Act Of August 21, 1912.
^Wisconsin &rd)eologt0t
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
County Surveyor, Office: Court House
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
VOLUME 24, No. 2
1943
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
Page
Bird-Stone Ceremonial Found on Skull 17
Donald O. Boud&man
A Village of Clam Eaters 21
P. V. Lawson
Indian Drills and Reamers 25
Charles E. Brown
Rain Legends and Beliefs 27
Doroth Moulding Brown
Notes 32
Walter Bubbert
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Room 2, Court House
MILWAUKEE
Z&i.tfronsin
^Siltoaufeee, 58Bicon0in
Incorporated March 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study
and preservation of Wisconsin antiquities
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Arthur P. Kannenberg, Oshkosh Public Museum
VICE PRESIDENTS
W. K. Andrew A. K. Fisher Louis Pierron
Kermit Freckman Robert B. Hartman
DIRECTORS
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
Vetal Winn
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Charles E. Brown
(Madison)
Dr. W. H. Brown
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
(Oshkosh)
Erwin G. Burg
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
(New London)
W. E. Erdman
(Horicon)
John G. Gregory
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
(Reedsburg)
Zida C. Ivey
(Ft. Atkinson)
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
(Wild Rose)
Dr. A. L. Kastner
B. W. Knoblock
(LaGrange, 111.)
J. J. Knudsen
(Atlanta, Ga.)
A. E. Koerner
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
T. L. Miller
Robert Ritzenthaler
Charles G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
J. P. Schumacher
(Green Bay)
V. S. Taylor
(Lake Mills)
Vetal Winn
G. R. Zilisch
(Hustisford)
TREASURER
G. M. Thome
917 N. Forty-ninth Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR
Walter BuWbert
Room 2, County Surveyor's Office, Court House
Residence: 1516 No. 37th St., Milwaukee, Wis.
ASSISTANT EDITORS
G. M. Triorne W. C. McKern
COMMITTEES
REGULAR
STATE SURVEY Wm. K. Andrew, Kermit Freckman, Robert R.
Jones, Frank M. Neu, J. P. Barr, Harold Bullock, M. F. Hul-
bert, W. E. Erdman, Dr. P. H. Nesbitt, Charles E. Brown, Dr.
John F. Donahue, Erwin Burg, George L. Pasco.
MOUND PRESERVATION Louis Pierron, Towne L. Miller, H. O.
Zander, C. A. Koubeck, A. C. Fiedler, Arthur W. Quan, V. G.
Jackson, Paul Scholz, Vetal Winn, Dr. 0. W. Ebert, Ray Owen.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS R. N. Buckstaff, N. J. Behnke, Dr. Ira
Edwards, Frederic Heath, Mary C. Kohler, Gerald C. Stowe,
Zida C. Ivey, Rev. F. S. Dayton, Mark H. Knight, N. W. Boeder,
Jens Jacobson, Rev. Peter O. Johnson, Charles E. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE G. M. Thome, Dr. H. W. Kuhm,
Dr. L. S. Buttles, Dr. A. L. Kastner, Mrs. Theodore Koerner,
Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich,
M. G. Schmidt, J. K. Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS C. L. Harrington, W. E.
Scott, Victor S. Taylor, Walter Holsten, Mrs Robert E. Friend,
Robert Hartmann, H. G. Rueping.
PUBLICITY Mrs. Wm. K. Andrew, H. J. Kent, Mrs. A. E. Koerner,
Albert Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlon, Dorothy M. Brown.
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetc 1 Winn.
PROGRAM Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Charles G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell,
W. C. McKern
SPECIAL
PUBLICATIONS Walter Bubbert, A. E. Koerner, G. M. Thorne, W.
C. McKern, Dr. H. W. Kuhm.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Fred Scholz, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hoefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Jean Bara, Mary Vanden-
burg, Richard W. Moore, Robert Hartman.
PERMANENT STANDING
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A. Bar-
rett, Charles G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
CODIFYING THE TYPES OF ARCHEOLOGIAL SITES IN WIS-
CONSIN W. C. McKern, Kermit Freckman, Erwin Burg.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Endowment Members, $600.00
Sustaining Members, $5.00 Annual Members, $2.00
Institutional Members, $1.50 Junior Members, $ .50
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Aicheologicel Society should
be addressed to Walter Bubbert, Rcom 2, Court House, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be addressed to him. Dues
should be sent to G. M. Thorne, Treasurer, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
^-^V-aK/V, XT /*.^ <* *8
fcffff >
Re-assembled burial with bird-stone resting on skull
Wisconsin
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 24 No - 2
MILWAUKEE. WIS., JUNE, 1943
New Series.
BIRD-STONE CEREMONIAL FOUND ON SKULL
By Donald 0. Boudeman
Archaeologist, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Public Museum
Last month (October, 1942) my friend Joseph Ringeisen,
Jr., well known Milwaukee archaeologist, paid me a visit, and
while we were going over my collection of prehistoric relics,
our talk turned to bird-stones, a class of artifacts he has spe-
cialized in. During our conversation I told him about a find
which had been made in my own county, in which, in a gravel-
pit burial, the skeleton of an Indian was unearthed, placed in
a sitting position, with a bird-stone resting on the top of the
skull. He at once became greatly interested, on account of the
long controversy among archaeologists as to just how the bird-
stone ceremonial, that specimen so highly prized by all Indian
relic collectors, and one of the most curious and highly finish-
ed specimens of Indian handicraft in stone to be found in this
part of America, was used by the Indians before the white man
came. Upon being told that I had seen a photograph of the find
several years ago which I might be able to borrow in order to
show it to him, Mr. Ringeisen became enthusiastic about the
prospect and asked me to write an article about this discovery,
and to send the photograph to the Milwaukee Public Museum
in order to have it reproduced for illustration in the Wiscon-
sin Archaeologist.
Upon driving out to the finder's farm home, I found that
he had died several years ago. However, his wife still survived
and, I discovered, knew all about the find. She located the
photograph I sought, loaned it to me for reproduction, and
gave me considerable additional information about it. She also
told me where to find the collector, residing in an adjoining
county, who had purchased the relics found with the skeleton.
18 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24, No. 2
So I drove on to his home and prevailed upon him to let me
take the relics, four in number, to be photographed by the mu-
seum.
Here are the details of the discovery. On June 22, 1910,
Orlin M. Harrison, while working on his father's farm in
Wakeshma Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, dug into
a gravel pit and came upon an Indian skeleton. It was buried
in a sitting position, and a bird-stona of banded slate was rest-
ing on top of the skull. Moreover, there were three shell
gorgets scattered amongst the bones. These were all the re-
lics found with the burial, and the absence of anything show-
ing white man's influence would indicate that the burial was
prehistoric. A photograph was taken at the time of the dis-
covery, and the burial, exactly as found although not in situ,
is illustrated in the accompanying plate. The bird-stone and
gorgets are easily perceived, and the finder may be seen seated
in the background.
In connection with this subject, it may be interesting to
enumerate some of the theories of leading archaeologists, past
and present, as to the probable use of the bird-stone ceremo-
nial. They are as follows :
1. Worn on the head by the Indian women, but only after
marriage.
2. Worn by Indian wives to denote pregnancy (brooding
bird).
3. Worn by Indian maidens to indicate the fact that they
were ready to marry.
4. Worn by Indian medicine men over one ear as a badge
of office.
5. Worn as an ornament, charm stone, or insignia.
6. Used as totems of tribes or clans of Indians.
7. Used as talismans in some way connected with the hunt
for water fowl.
8. Used as prow ornaments on canoes.
9. Attached to holed tablets which were worn on the head-
dress.
Bird-Stone Ceremonial Found on Skull 19
10. Bound to the top of the long, flat stem of the Calumet
pipe.
11. Mounted on a staff similar to the supposed manner of
mounting a banner stone.
12. Bound to the top of a flute which was used on ceremonial
occasions.
It might also be well to mention briefly the distribution of
the bird-stone ceremonial. My friend, Dr. W. B. Hinsdale,
Custodian of Michigan Archaeology, University of Michigan
Museum, states in his book: Primitive Man in Michigan, that
bird-stones " . . . . are probably more common in this than in
any other state." Other authorities have estimated that over
a thousand bird-stones have been found in Michigan.
Mr. A. B. Cassell, a Minnesota collector who specializes in
bird-stones, made a survey (from 1938 to 1941) of leading
collections, both private and public, in the areas where bird-
stones are found. Out of some fifteen hundred specimens ex-
amined in this Survey the largest number, according to his re-
port, were found in Michigan ; the second largest number, in
Ohio ; and the third largest, in Indiana. Then, in that order,
came Ontario, New York, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Finally,
there were a scattering from eastern and southern states. But
he says that the first three states named above are the only
ones that lie entirely in the bird-stone area : the other states
mentioned each has only a portion within this area.
The writer has in his private collection, including not only
perfect specimens but also unfinished ones and those which
have been somewhat damaged by the plow, over two hundred
and fifty bird-stones; and while the majority of them are made
of banded slate, some are made of such other materials as
granite, porphyry, quartz, hematite, and even copper. The
number given above does not include bird-shaped gorgets,
saddle- or bar-shaped amulets, or bird head types. Some have
the so-called "pop eyes" projecting on slender stems with but-
ton ends as much as one inch in diameter. Probably around
eighty per cent of the bird-stones iri the writer's collection are
from Michigan.
20 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 2
In closing, I should like to state that this is the only record,
to my knowledge, of a bird-stone ceremonial having been found
in this position, and this find would indicate that bird-stones
were worn on the head, as many authorities have thought. But
the fact that the skeleton was re-buried soon after the find
was made precludes any investigation as to either the sex or
probable age of the wearer. It would appear reasonable, how-
ever, to suppose that they were not employed everywhere in
the same manner.
A Village of Clam Eaters 21
A VILLAGE OF CLAM EATERS
P. V. Lawson, Menasha, Wisconsin, January 1, 1899. Appeared
in The Daily Northwestern, Jain. 7, 1899, page 5, Col, 1.
Editor's Note:
The following is published just as originally printed, with-
out careful editing, in consideration of the present importance
of, and growing interest in the Lasley's Point site, which has
come into the lime light as a result of the investigations made
there, during several seasons, by the Oshkosh Public Museum,
and of the prospects of continued research there in the future.
The editorial staff, as representing the Wisconsin Arche-
ological Society, does not endorse the author's use of such
words as "savage" and "superstitious," or other terms oc-
casionally used in apparent disparagement of Indian beliefs
and customs. We doubt if the author employed them for the
purpose of a criticism so unrelated to the subject.
"Among the interesting relics which help to trace the his-
tory of pre-historic man on this and other continents are the
shell heaps or kitchen refuse found at different places on the
banks of rivers and lakes and along the sea coasts. They are
accumulated tumuli of refuse materials resulting from per-
manent residence and contain not only the bones and shells
rejected at the feast, but numerous remains of art, the chase,
and defense as well as religious tokens. Such fresh water
shell heaps are found in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in
at least one location or district at or near Winneconne on
the banks of Lake Winneconne. In that village there are
or were, four such heaps. There are also several at Clark's
Point, two miles north of there. But the most interesting, be-
cause most of them are undisturbed by the plow are those
near 'Camp Olsen,' between the other two locations men-
tioned, and with which I am most familiar, and will describe.
"These latter heaps are on the 192 acre tract of land own-
ed and occupied by Mr. Lasley. It is commonly known as Cow-
an's Point, because it was formerly used by him as a trading
post and the place where the Indians were paid off. It was
at the store which once stood on the site that Chief Oshkosh
obtained his supplies, and stands charged in its books, 'for
22 . WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 2
one red blanket.' This historic tract of land still occupied by
descendants of the noble red man of history has been used
for many generations back, no one knows for how many by
aboriginal races of man. Almost every part bears evidence of
use at sometime in the past. Many acres of it are covered with
long, regular, perfectly straight corn rows of pre-historic man.
They are now 3 to 6 inches high and from 3 to 6 feet from cen-
ter to center. There are also numerous acres covered w r ith corn
hills quite well preserved, eighteen inches in diameter, and
ten inches high, evidently of a later date. Hundreds of small
stone heaps about three feet in diameter, are made to clear
the ground and show thrift and economy and husbandry. There
are also a good many large stone heaps, which mark the burial
places of loved ones and exhibit commendable respect for the
dead. Two of the boulder-covered graves measure forty by
thirty-two feet. They are from two to three feet high. They are
all covered by tons of large boulders.
"The superstition of racial respect of the owners of this
interesting site will not permit any excavation or examination
of the land. So for the present at least we must remain content
to know the early occupants as a 'Village of Clam Eaters.'
These people made their principle meal of clams although in
the examination madq of the shell heaps at the holes made by
burrowing animals, it is found that they also ate different
kinds of fish, including the sheephead as well as various ani-
mals, including rodents, birds, and deer. There are eighteen
shell heaps in the tract or village site. Most of them are still
well preserved, through the woods but some of them near the
lake have been plowed over, leveled and scattered. These
heaps are usually long and narrow and about thirty inches
high. One measures one hundred and twenty-six feet long. One
of the same size had an angle of ninety-nine feet on the end
terminating in a burial mound twelve feet in diameter cover-
ed with large boulders. These shell heaps were lodge sites, to
which place the shell and game fish were taken to cook and eat
and the shells and bones dropped after the meat was devoured.
The long narrow heaps would represent long houses or lodges
made of twigs, barks, and grass formerly populated by pre-
historic savages and vermin.
A Village of Clam Eaters 23
"This village site ranges back from ih^ low shore of the
beautiful lake gradually rising until at its farthest point, about
one-third mile from the lake, it is about twenty-five feet above
the lake level. And all along- up the gentle slope their lodges,
if such they were stood at varying distances from each other,
of one to three hundred feet. Some of them were not more than
twenty feet long or ten feet wide and none of them are ar-
ranged in such an orderly manner as to indicate anything like
regular order on streets or in any particular direction. We may
suppose the heaps to be the accumulation of winter life, as in
the warm season we may easily suppose them to eat wherever
they happened to be, when hungry. As it has often been shown
the savage method of preparing mussels for food was first by
covering a hole in the ground containing the animal still en-
cased in its shell, it may be quite right to suppose that the
holes found so often about this village were used for such a
purpose. These h^les as they now appear are thirty-six inch-
es wide, six inches deep and perfectly round.
"William J. Seever, Secretary of the Missouri Historical
Society at St. Louis informed me that he had eaten clams both
raw and cooked and pronounces them tough and tasteless and
in every way unfit for food. In the limited search about these
heaps there have been found decorated bones, a horn harpoon,
fragments of pottery, and masses of bones and shells. If ever
possible to excavate these shell heaps this village of clam eat-
ers will yield up a vast quantity of valuable and interesting
relics, especially as they are composed of sand and are easily
examined. Those plowed over are constantly showing what is
to be expected in fine specimens of stone and bone implements.
Among the pottery fragments I have from these shell heaps
are some which were formed around a gourd and some showing
the impress of a grass fabric, which was a good specimen of
textile art being closely woven of fine thread.
"There are a variety of bivalve shells found in the heaps,
to use the buttonmakers terms they are : the variety with the
'Warty Backs,' which is quite round and thick and has little
knobs or warts on the back of the shell; the 'sand hill' which
is long and narrow; the 'fullhead' which is round and thick
24 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 2
with a very thick hinge; and the ' ripple back,' or pearl
clam shell which has four ridges along the back of the shell
from the hinge, which is on one corner, to the canal or tip.
The ripple back is the shell of the clam from the animal of
which is obtained the pearl of the jeweler. There is no evidence
that the clam eater made any use of the gem
"The shells are now mostly and greatly rotted, and most
of them crumble so easily that it is difficult to get good speci-
mens. The sand which is so large a part of the heaps now,
was doubtlessly the dirt tracked in on the moccasin of the
clam eater, or if we imagine such a degree of cleanliness, was
used to sprinkle the natural floor of the savage wigwam.
"It is quite possible that these heaps will be found to con-
tain human remains, in conformity to a common savage custom
of interring the dead beneath the hearth and it is the custom
which caused the grave to be made at the end of the lodge
which is mentioned above. These heaps are now mostly grown
over with shrubbery and trees. Many immense oaks grow
directly out from them. It could not be determined if they
were co-existent with the extensive corn rows or other evi-
dence of pre-historic occupation."
Indian Drills and Reamers 25
INDIAN DRILLS AND REAMERS
By Charles E. Brown
In its Indian history hall the Wisconsin Historical Museum
is showing a collection of nearly seven hundred flint tools as-
sembled by George A. West, the former widely known Mil-
waukee archaeologist. These implements are drills, perfora-
tors, and reamers and were used by the pre-Columbian In-
dians for drilling holes in such native materials as stone, bone,
horn, shell, and pottery. With them the primitive red man
bored out the bowls and stem-holes of stone pipes, drilled holes
in stone and shell amulets, ornaments, and ceremonial pieces,
and performed other operations requiring a drill or perforator.
Most were probably mounted in bone or wooden handles when
in use. Some were probably mounted in the shaft of a bow-drill.
They correspond with the awl, gimlet, and auger of the white
man.
Mr. West began the assembling of this valued collection in
the year 1908, his idea being to make it fully representative
of this quite large class of widely distributed Indian tools.
About one-third of the specimens were obtained from old In-
dian village and, workshop sites in Wisconsin, and the remain-
der from similar localities in twenty other states. These tools
are of a great variety of form. Some are merely straight shafts
pointed at one or both ends, while others are provided with an
expanded base at one end. Some have notches at their bases
by means of which they might be fastened to a handle or shaft.
Some have needle-like sharp points. They are of different
sizes, the smallest being only about one-half inch in length
while one of the largest, a reamer used for enlarging drill holes,
is six inches long. The stone from which they were chipped
into form is flint of many varieties and colors ; a small number
are made of quartzite and obsidian. Mr. West experimented
with the use of many forms of these tools and became very
proficient in the drilling of holes in stone with both the hand
and the bow-drill. In an issue of The Wisconsin Archaeologist
he published the results of his investigations. In several cases
26 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol 24 No. 2
near the exhibit of drills are several cases of pipes and orna-
ments drilled by the early Indian artisans with these primi-
tive human tools.
Mr. West was one of the organizers of the Wisconsin Ar-
cheological Society, now in the fortieth year of its existence.
He served for years as a member of the Board of Trustees of
the Milwaukee Public Museum, and as its President. As a
result of his archeological researches he became the national
authority on the manufacture and use of Indian pipes. In
the course of his researches he visited museums and private
collections in many states. His very large and valuable col-
lection of Indian pipes he presented to the Milwaukee Public
Museum. In 1908, the Wisconsin Archeological Society pub-
lished his illustrated monograph on ''The Aboriginal Pipes of
Wisconsin." During his lifetime he also presented his drill and
perforator collection and made other gifts to the Wisconsin
Historical Museum. He influenced many other men, and espe-
cially young men, to engage in archeological studies. For
his anthropological investigations the State society confer-
red on him the coveted Lapham Research Medal.
Archeological students are invited to see this valued drill
collection.
Rain Legends and Beliefs 27
RAIN LEGENDS AND BELIEFS
By Dorothy Moulding Brown
Among both the Woodland and the Plains tribes the birds
which are most highly venerated are the mythical thunder-
birds. These huge birds, often referred to as the "feathered
Ones," bring the thunder, the lightning, rain, hail, and the
wind. The thunder is caused by the movement of their great
wings, and the lightning flashes, by the opening and closing
of their eyes. They bring not only the terrific storms but also
the gentle rains of the spring, which cause the Indians crops
to grow. Some of the old birds are believed to carry lakes on
their backs which spill and cause heavy downpours of rain. In
their claws they clutch stone balls (thunderbolts) which they
hurl at the water spirits horned snakes, and other evil things
which endanger the lives of the people on the earth. In the
mist and fog these birds stalk their prey.
The thunderers are able to assume human form and in this
shape walk the earth, sometimes carrying great clubs. The
Menomini Indians refer to them as the Mudjekiwis, meaning
the * ' oldest persons. ' ' Several of the original animals who came
to form this tribe were thunderers. The chief thunderers are
five in number and are arranged in a row in the heavens. One,
located to the north, brings hail ; two others bring the cold and
storms. Some others are of lesser rank. The birds have plum-
age of several different colors.
"When visible, they are particularly good omens to those
who glimpse them. Their nests are built on masses of rock
which float tier upon tier in the western sky. Their eggs hatch
in July, and the thunderstorms so prone to occur at that season
are due to the activity of the young birds in learning to fly.
When it is known that the thunderers are out hunting, the
pious Menomini offers up tobacco, scattering it outdoors for
them." 1
The Winnebago also have an origin myth in which two of the
thunderers took on human form and came through the mist
1. Am. Mus. of Nat. Hist., Anthrop. Papers, V. XIII, pt. 1, pp. 23-78.
28 WISCONSIN AECHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 2
to the shore of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and there, with other
animals, became the ancestors of their tribe. Many Indian
myths, legends, stories, songs, and customs are based on the
redman's belief in the powerful thunderbirds. The Winne-
bago, Menomini, and Chippewa all have songs of the thunder-
ers. The Osage have a group of rain songs called "Songs of
the Striking of the Earth." Their singing is accompanied by
certain ceremonial acts. 2
An Ontario Ojibwa tale of the thunderbirds, collected by the
late Col. George E. Laidlaw, tells that the old people once went
to the Blue Mountains. There a thunderbird had its nest and
in it were two young birds. These were like large geese, naked
and of a brownish color. The old people went several times to
see them, and they saw them during a thunderstorm. 3
A Potawatomi Indian who was hunting was caught in a
terrible thunderstorm. The rain came down in sheets and he
sought refuge in a large hollow log. While he was lying there,
hoping that the rainfall would soon cease, a bolt of lightning
struck a big tree. After this danger had passed he saw a lit-
tle black man on the ground on one side of the tree. When he
looked again another little black midget was on the other side.
He thought they must have come down from the branches.
While he watched them they both walked right up into the
sky, just as nimbly as if they were walking up a hill. After
several other lightning flashes he saw quite a group of other
little black men come down from the limbs of other trees. All
soon disappeared in the same manner as the other men. When
the storm ceased the hunter went on his way wondering at
what he had seen.
The Huron Indians have a myth of the origin of the sun-
shower, in which a young Indian woman married a son of
Thunder. A child was born of this union. With his father's
permission she took the boy to the earth to visit her mother.
Before she went his father made her promise to take good care
of him. He must always be good-natured, for being of the
2. 39 Ann. Rept., Bu. Am. Ethno.
3. Ontario Archeo. Rept., 1915, p. 4.
Eain Legends and Beliefs 29
Thunder family, he might kill someone if he became angry. On
earth the boy was given a bow and went out to play with In-
dian children of his own age. One day the children got hold
of his bow. The Thunder boy took it away, and, in anger,
drew it at the boy who had taken it. Before he could do any
harm a thunder peal came and the air was filled with smoke.
His father had come to bear him away. He placed the boy
in the sky. Now whenever it rains when the sun is shining,
people think and say that the Thunder Boy is making the
rain. 4
Little Turtle spent most of her time in the sky, "keeping
the heavens," relates a Chippewa tale. Deer, who lived on
the earth, wished to visit her. Rainbow was asked to help
and made a beautiful pathway of all of her bright colors by
which Deer could enter the sky world. Soon the other ani-
mals missed Deer and hunted everywhere for him. In the
course of their search they discovered the bright path, and
all, except Mud Turtle, v/ent along the bright path to the sky.
They chose to remain there. There they may often be seen fly-
ing or running about. 5
A Winnebago Indian was going on a journey toward Lake
Superior. Before he left a witch woman gave him an herb
charm which he put in his pouch. That night he camped in the
woods. He had hardly spread his blanket when it began to
rain. The rain became harder and harder and he was obliged
to seek shelter in the trunk of a hollow tree. The next morn-
ing he resumed his journey. That night it rained hard again,
and again he sought a tree shelter. Each night after that there
was terrible rain and thunderstorms, and the Indian became
very much afraid. The thunder spirits seemed to be angry with
him. He made tobacco offerings to them, but without avail.
When he finally reached the shores of Lake Superior he threw
the charm into the lake. When it fell into the water a peal of
thunder was heard. The witch woman had desired to kill him.
Fox Bluff, a prominent hill on the north shore of Lake Men-
dota, was one of the places where the thunderers, in their
4. Huron and Wyandot Mythology, pp. 53-54.
5. Ibid, pp. 308-3009.
30 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol 24 No. 2
long flights from their nesting places in the far north, often
roosted. The Winnebago, camping on the opposite shore of
the lake, knew when these huge birds were there by the heat
lightning which was seen in the sky over the hill. It was a
sacred place and they kept away from it. Rains often came
when they arrived or departed.
A spirit carries water in a skin bag. When he wants it to
rain he pierces it with a bone awl. He travels in a mist or fog.
A little Choctaw Indian tale is interesting. "A long time
ago when the water was dried up in the springs, or anywhere
they could not get any water, the Indians used to whip these
little frogs which live under the bark of a tree not the water
frogs, but the little frogs which are green looking and about
the size of a man's finger. When the weather is dry these
frogs certainly do make a noise under the bark of trees. It
is said that means it is going to rain within three days. If
a person whips too hard on these green frogs it is said a big
storm will come upon him and destroy his property or kill the
person who whipped the frog. Also, the Indians say if you
knock down the mud these little fellows build along the swam-
py places it will bring a good rain and hail." 6
Some Indians and some animals have the power to make
rain. Members of the Dreamers Society have that spirit-
given power. Mrs. William Tahwah, residing near Wabeno,
says in a recent letter: "When it is real hot them Indians make
a little speech, after that it sure rains. ' ' They call rain kimiwan.
"Indian John/' an old Winnebago, who years ago, during one
very hot and dry summer, camped at what is now the Univer-
sity of Wisconsin Arboretum on the south shore of Lake Win-
gra, at Madison, promised certain persons of the nearby Nako-
ma suburban settlement in return for a little gift, to make
rain. And John kept his promise. He never would devulge
the nature of the little ceremony he conducted to bring rain.
His reputation as a rainmaker was made.
Pitted stones are believed by some Indians to show the
6. Indian Legends and Superstitions, U. S. Indian Training School,
Lawrence, Kas., p. 29.
Rain Legends and Beliefs 31
marks of a hard rain which once fell, and are kept as "rain
charms." Frances Densmore mentions that among the Chip-
pewa "Spherical stone charms are kept in wigwams to cause
thunderstorms to recede." An Indian woman said to her,
"The thunderbird likes this stone as a hen likes the egg she
has laid and will not hurt it. If a thunderstorm threatened
the proper procedure was to put this stone, with a little tobac-
co, on a birch leaf, anywhere out of doors. The birch tree was
believed to be under the protection of the thunderbird." 7
Some Wisconsin Indians keep round stones in their wigwams
to insure against lightning- strokes.. They are spoken of as
"thunderbird eggs." On the top of the high bank of the Mis-
souri River, above Bismarck, there was, or still is, a large
stone with many pits on iis surface which was designated as
an old Indian "rain stone."
Miss Densmore states t^at a former White Earth Chippewa
wore a blanket which was covered with his dream picture.
"All who saw it were aware that the man had dreamed of a
rainbow, the thunderbird, the lightum^ and the earth; yet the
relation of these to one another and the dreamer remained a
secret known only to himself and to thosn to whom he revealed
it. A dream of a rainbow was represented by the bright and
varied colors of worsted braid on tlio 'front' piece of a wom-
an's dress. Dream representations the rainbow, a moon and
a star, also appeared in beadwork patterns. ' ' 8
Much more might be written on the subject of the stories,
beliefs, and customs of the Woodland Indians concerning rain.
7. Bull. 86, Bu. Am. Ethno., p. 113.
8. Ibid, p. 82.
32 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 2
Archeological Notes
As we go to press we are informed that bill 383A, which is an
appropriation bill to study and mark the trail followed by Black
Hawk through Wisconsin, is making favorable progress. It was in-
troduced at the request of Assembly speaker, Vernon W. Thompson,
of Richland Center, by the Judiciary Committee.
We announce in earlier pages our new advisory board and com-
mittees.
Good attendance has taken place at all our meetings. At our Feb-
ruary meeting W. Ben Hunt of Hales Corners, an author on Indian
craft books gave an interesting demonstration on Indian craft meth-
ods. At the April meeting Robert Ritzenthaler reviewed the Smith-
sonian series on Japanese peoples. Movies were shown of Japanese
customs.
Members are urged to write for the interesting bulletins available
in the War Background Studies Series of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, Washington, D.C.
New members are
Mrs. Helen Raab, Winneconnie, an annual member.
Dr. R. 0. Ebert, Oshkosh, an annual member.
Mr. Roger Crabtree, Milwaukee, an annual member.
W. Ben Hunt, Hales Corners, an annual member.
Many excellent papers were read at the annual meeting of the Wis-
consin Academy of Arts and Sciences, held April 16 and 17 at Mar-
quette University. We hope to publish some in coming issues. Pap-
ers were read by Albert Bar+on. Phebe Jewell Nichols, Newell E.
Freeman, Marvel Ings, Nancy D. Oestreich, Sheldon Gardner, Vivien
G. Dube, George Overton, Charles E. Brown, Dorothy Moulding
Brown, Victor Taylor, Will F. Bauchle, Mary M. Vandenburgh, Rev.
Peter Leo Johnson and Walter Bubbert.
We seem to be having a little difficulty saving the large mound at
Frosts Woods Subdivison on Lake Monona below Madison. The town-
ship officials do not seem to be very anxious to relocate roads in ac-
cepted plats.
We note that the Winnebago Indian Handicraft Cooperative at
Black River Falls is reporting a good sale of their products.
Mitchell Red Cloud and Charles R. Low Cloud continue with their
interesting columns in the Black River Falls Banner-Journal.
We wish to thank Jos. Ringeisen for contributing the plate of the
bird-stone burial.
Archeological Notes
The final meeting before summer was held May 17th at the invi-
tation of the Milwaukee County Historical Museum folks in their new
quarters on the 7th floor of the Milwaukee County Court House.
Over 50 attended to hear county museum assistant Ted Miller tell of
the life of an early Milwaukee Indian agent, Dr. Francis Huebschman,
who was appointed by President Pierce. President Heath of the coun-
ty historical society arranged, being a county supervisor, for the meet-
ing to, be held in the county supervisors chambers and explained the
significance of the historic mural of early Milwaukee, which was
to the rear of the chairman's desk.
ANNOUNCEMENT A SUMMER AFTERNOON PICNIC OF
THE WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY WILL BE HELD
THE SECOND SUNDAY IN AUGUST, AUGUST 8th, AT ESTA-
BROOK PARK ON THE MILWAUKEE RIVER NORTH OF CAP-
ITOL DRIVE, MILWAUKEE. ARRANGEMENTS WILL BE
MADE TO HAVE A SHORT HIKE ACROSS THE RIVER TO THE
MILWAUKEE ORDNANCE PLANT VICINITY TO INSPECT
THE TELLER INDIAN MOUNDS.
Walter Bubbert, Secretary
Wisconsin Srcljeologtst
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
County Surveyor, Office: Court House
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
24 geptem&er, 1943 $o, 3
A History of the Mississipipi Cultures
Indian Laws
Log Cabin Museums of Wisconsin
Perforated Indian Skulls
Arts and Crafts of the American Indian
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $1.50 PER YEAR
Entered as 2d class matter at the P. O. at Milwaukee, Wisconsin
January 28, 1921, under the Act of August 21, 1912.
Cije Wisconsin &rcl)eoiogtst
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
County Surveyor, Office: Court House
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
VOLUME 24, No. 3
1943
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
Page
A History of the Mississippi Cultures 33
John W. Bennett
Indian Laws 43
George Overton
Log Building Museums of Wisconsin 46
Charles E. Brown
Perforated Indian Skulls 49
Newell E. Collins
Arts and Crafts of the American Indian 53
Mary M. Vandenburgh
Chert Flakings 58
Secretary
PUBLISHED BY THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Room 2, Court House
MILWAUKEE
Incorporated March 23, 1903, for the purpose of advancing the study
and preservation of Wisconsin antiquities
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Arthur P. Kannenberg, Oshkosh Public Museum
VICE PRESIDENTS
W. K. Andrew A. K. Fisher Louis Pierron
Kermit Freckman Robert B. Hartman
DIRECTORS
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
Vetal Winn
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Charles E. Brown
(Madison)
Dr. W. H. Brown
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
(Oshkosh)
Erwin G. Burg
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
(New London)
W. E. Erdman
(Horicon)
John G. Gregory
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
(Reedsburg)
Zida C. Ivey
(Ft. Atkinson)
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
(Wild Rose)
Dr. A. L. Kastner
B. W. Knoblock
(LaGrange, 111.)
J. J. Knudsen
(Atlanta, Ga.)
A. E. Koerner
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
W. C. McKern
T. L. Miller
Robert Ritzenthaler
Charles G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
V. S. Taylor
(Lake Mills)
G. R. Zilisch
(Hustisford)
TREASURER
G. M. Thome
917 N. Forty-ninth Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR
Walter Bubbert
Room 2, County Surveyor's Office, Court House
Residence: 1516 No. 37th St., Milwaukee, Wis.
ASSISTANT EDITORS
G. M. Thome W. C. McKern
COMMITTEES
REGULAR
STATE SURVEY Wm. K. Andrew, Kermit Freckman, Robert R.
Jones, Frank M. Neu, J. P. Barr, Harold Bullock, M. F. Hul-
bert, W. E. Erdman, Dr. P. H. Nesbitt, Charles E. Brown, Dr.
John F. Donahue, Erwin Burg, George L. Pasco.
MOUND PRESERVATION Louis Pierron, Towne L. Miller, H. 0.
Zander, C. A. Koubeck, A. C. Fiedler, Arthur W. Quan, V. G.
Jackson, Paul Scholz, Vetal Winn, Dr. 0. W. Ebert, Ray Owen.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS R. N. Buckstaff, N. J. Behnke, Dr. Ira
Edwards, Frederic Heath, Mary C. Kohler, Gerald C. Stowe,
Zida C. Ivey, Rev. F. S. Dayton, Mark H. Knight, N. W. Roeder,
Jens Jacobson, Rev. Peter O. Johnson, Charles E. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE G. M. Thome, Dr. H. W. Kuhm,
Dr. L. S. Buttles, Dr. A. L. Kastner, Mrs. Theodore Koerner,
Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich,
M. G. Schmidt, J. K. Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS C. L. Harrington, W. E.
Scott, Victor S. Taylor, Walter Holsten, Mrs Robert E. Friend,
Robert Hartman, H. G. Rueping.
PUBLICITY Mrs. Wm. K. Andrew, H. J. Kent, Mrs. Theo. Koerner,
Albert Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlon, Dorothy M. Brown.
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS J-s. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Charles G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell,
W. C. McKern
SPECIAL
PUBLICATIONS Walter Bubbert, A. E. Koerner, G. M. Thorne, W.
C. McKern, Dr. H. W. Kuhm.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Fred Scholz, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hoefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Jean Bara, Mary Vanden-
. burgh, Richard W. Moore, Robert Hartman.
PERMANENT STANDING
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A. Bar-
rett, Charles G. Schoewe, Mile C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
CODIFYING THE TYPES OF ARCHEOLOGIAL SITES IN WIS-
CONSIN W. C. McKern, Kermit Freckman, Erwin Burg.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Endowment Members, $500.00
Sustaining Members, $5.00 Annual Members, $2.00
Institutional Members, $1.60 Junior Members, $ .50
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Aicheologicel Society should
be addressed to Walter Bubbert, Rcom 2, Court House, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be addressed to him. Dues
should be sent to G. M. Thorne, Treasurer, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 24 No. 3
MILWAUKEE, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1943
New Series.
A HISTORY OF THE MISSISSIPPI CULTURES
By John W. Bennett
Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago.
Although such a general grouping had been recognized for
many years, it was not until the Midwest Taxonomic- System
was established that a definite conception called "Mississippi"
was introduced to archeologists. In the System, the old group-
ing was called the "Mississippi Pattern." The term pattern
has given a partially-false impression that the recognition
of the grouping as part of a classificatory system somehow
gives it a new, special meaning. This is not wholly true.
Most archeologists use the term no differently than they did
in the past ; the terminology merely makes it sound more pre-
cise.
Many archeologists think about the Mississippi Pattern as
a list of more or less specific traits, which have a real exis-
tence, and which can be used to tell positively whether or not
a culture belongs in the Mississippi group, rather than in the
Woodland, or some other. If such trait lists are handled with
care, they can be very useful. However, it may be much
better to think of the pattern as a sort of ideal type, not neces-
sarily composed of "traits/' but which expresses the con-
sensus of opinion of a number of archeologists as to a gen-
eralized culture tradition. Eventually we hope to be able to
work it out as a real taxonomic group, just as we compare
cultures at individual sites to form a focus.
There is a third way to think about this "pattern" one
which does not interfere with the ideal-type conception
mentioned above, but which is even more useful when dealing
with specific archeologieal materials. This third way con-
sists of forgetting all about taxonomy and patterns, and
34 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
to think of the Mississippi Cultures, These are a group of sites,
very widespread, all showing considerable basic similarity with
one another, which suggests that in the distant past they
all had some kind of historical relationship. Or to say it
vaguely, they " shared a common tradition."
In this brief paper we will attempt to reconstruct the
history of the Mississippi Cultures, and to suggest some of
the relationships that may have existed between them in
fairly late times. Perhaps this discussion will help us to
visualize the place of Mississippi Cultures in Wisconsin as
contrasted to their relatives elsewhere. We will present our
data in the form of periods, giving the approximate hypothet-
ical dates for each.
The Early Period
It was believed for many years that the Mississippi Cul-
tures first developed in the central Mississippi River Valley.
This was a logical conclusion based on the fact that some? of
the biggest and most elaborate Mississippi sites were found
in this general region. On the evidence, it was not a bad
guess.
A recent intensive archeological survey of the central val-
ley has shown that there; is very little reason to believe it was
here that Mississippi Cultures developed. The farther one
goes back in stratigraphical depth (and time), the more non-
Mississippi the cultures get. It seems that the big Mississ-
ippi sites in this part of the valley arrived there after the
cultures had begun somewhere else. However, some of the
cultures in this region which are of the same time-period
as early Mississippi elsewhere, show some influence from
early Mississippi. They have small pyramidal mounds, and
some pottery vessel shapes that are like Mississippi, but the
pottery is clay-tempered and has other distinct differences.
On the whole, these cultures were related to still earlier,Wood-
land-like ones in the lower Mississippi Valley.
At the present time, it is believed .that Mississippi began
in the general eastern area in the upper Tennessee River
Valley and in an area extending south to central Georgia.
A History of the Mississippi Cultures 35
Before the Mississippi Cultures appeared, this region was
inhabited by peoples with a southern Woodland type of cul-
ture.
The Mississippi sites of this early period are very much
like those of the next, or middle period, except that every-
thing is on a reduced scale : houses and mounds are smaller ;
pottery is simpler and, on the whole, cruder; other artifacts
are relatively simple. The physical type of the population
was round-headed, which stands out in contrast to the long-
headed population of the earlier southern Woodland cultures.
The newness of the culture type, plus the different physical
type, has suggested to many archeologists that the Mississ-
ippi Cultures did not really begin in the United States, but
rather .entered from some southern region, presumably Mex-
ico. Although we may never know the real story, it is true
that the Mississippi Cultures of this early period do seem to
appear suddenly and rather fully-developed, and are sharply
distinct from the cultures which went before.
The early Mississippi Culture in central Georgia does show
influence from one of the earlier Hopewellian-like cultures
of the Southeast. Such traits as flat-based pottery, copper
gorgets, and log tombs suggest some kind of generalized
Hopewellian-Woodland influence. However, even this early
Mississippi Culture had shell-tempered pottery and built
pyramidal mounds.
In all the Mississippi cultures of the Southeast, we tend to
find traces of the earlier Woodland cultures. Copper objects,
burial customs, some pottery designs and shapes, stone and
clay effigies, and a few other traits suggest that some con-
tinuity from the old pre-Mississippi cultures was present.
By and large, however, this was not important.
From our comparisons with othe;r cultures, we have given
this early period an approximate date : 1430 1530 A. D.
Later we will explain how we arrive at these and the other
dates.
36 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
The Middle Period (15301610 A. D.)
The early cultures described above persisted in their fairly
simple form for some time, but began to spread out along
all the river valleys of the southern United States. A settle-
ment was established in the north, near the present site of
St. Louis. We find relatively small mound sites culturally
similar to the latter stages of the early period distributed
over an extremely wide area. Toward the end of the early
period, the culture began to become more complex : mounds
grew larger, pottery more elaborate, populations increased.
In 1540, the Spanish explorer De Soto led a large exped-
ition through the southeastern United States, visiting many
Indian villages and towns. The majority of the places he
contacted had pyramidal mounds and other things which
we can match archeologically in Mississippi sites. De Soto
and his party also described the Indians as wearing elaborate
feather costumes, having wooden idols and elaborate religious
ceremonies, and so on. At first it was thought that De Soto's
chroniclers exaggerated their descriptions, but now it is gen-
erally believed that they were essentially correct.
The sites De Soto visited have been nearly all located. Sig-
nificantly, none of them are the really large, elaborate mound
sites of the Mississippi Cultures, like Moundville, 1 Etowah, 2
Spiro, 3 and the like. Instead, the sites he visited belong to the
simpler type of culture we have described for the latter part
of the early period. Therefore the De Soto expedition date
(1540) gives us an excellent base-line. With our knowledge of
the rate of development of the smaller type of cultures, we
can extend our Mississippi horizon back to about 1430 the
beginning of the early period.
About 1570, or thereabouts, the Mississippi expansion had
come to include the whole Mississippi River system, with
its tributaries, from central Illinois to the southern Georgia
coast. It had also spread up river valleys west of the Miss-
issippi, especially in Arkansas, and begun to mix with some
of the Plains Indian cultures. Mississippi Cultures, on all the
margins, began to merge with the surviving remnants of the
1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oklahoma.
A History of the Mississippi Cultures 37
older cultures : in Georgia, this mixture produced a complex
culture with mounds and other Mississippi-like traits, but
with a grit-tempered potter}' stamped in peculiar complicated
designs. In southern Arkansas and east Texas, the mixture
was a different, lower Mississippi Valley type of culture, call-
ed Coles Creek. The result was not much different from
Mississippi, except that the pottery was distinctive, with its
incised and engraved designs filled with pigment. Mounds
were slightly lower and broader; houses tended toward the
circular earth-lodge type, rather than the rectangular thatch-
ed variety.
The two biggest northern sites were Cahokia, near St.
Louis, and Kincaid, at the southern tip of Illinois. Another
type of Mississippi culture, called Trappist, began to develop
about this time in central Illinois, and it eventually spread
west to Cahokia, where it tends to lie above the older Cahokia
deposits. There is interesting evidence to show that at this
time the older Cahokia culture sent influences back down the
Mississippi River which appear in Mississippi Cultures of
the late period in northern Georgia.
By the end of this period (about 1600), Mississippi sites
had gotten as large as they ever would be. Mounds were
really enormous (the Monks Mound at Cahokia is the largest
man-made structure north of Mexico) ; village sites were
very large, and laid out in street and house-groups ; arts
and crafts were highly developed. Many people call this the
"Classic stage" of Mississippi culture.
The Late Period (16101670 A. D.)
Toward the end of the middle period there was a notice-
able tendency toward withdrawal of Mississippi cultures
from the river valleys. The beginning of the late period
really signifies the completion of this tendency. Instead of
hundreds of sites scattered up and down all the rivers, the
population withdrew into the very large, fortified towns,
which tended to be established away from the big rivers.
Small villages surrounded the towns. This pattern of concen-
tration of population and the resulting intensification of cul-
38 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
ture was probably the result of severe warfare. The huge
and elaborate palisades, with their double-entrances and bas-
tion-towers suggest this feature. Skeletons from this period
also show frequent skull-fractures and imbedded arrow-points.
Something else happened in the late period. In all the
big, late sites, we find a series of strange artifacts, like mon-
olithic stone axes, shell gorgets, masks, stone and pottery
idols, a series of odd symbols (double-headed mace, spider,
cross, sun-symbol, swastika, weeping eye, skull and cross-
bones, feathered serpents, etc.) which are repeated again and
again on pottery and shell gorgets. The bulk of this evidence
has led archeologists to postulate the existence of an elabor-
ate religious cult that spread like wildfire throughout the
whole Mississippi Culture and its mixed varieties on the south-
ern and western margins.
Some of the drawings etched into shell gorgets and cups
show priests and warriors in elaborate costumes, with painted
faces. Some of these figures appear to be worshipping; oth-
ers, like eagle-warriors, are fighting with one another in
stylized postures. The costumes, headdresses, postures, and
general treatment of the face are strongly suggestive of Mex-
ican traits. There is a general consensus of opinion among
archeologists that at this time there must have been a sudden
and rather strong influence of some kind from Mexico, pos-
sibly from the Vera Cruz region, where cultures bearing the
closest similarity to Mississippi are found. Just what the
nature of this influence was nobody knows. There are no
actual Mexican artifacts in any Mississippi site. However, the
resemblances are too striking to account for on the basis of
a parallel development.
The whole picture of Mississippi Culture at this time sug-
gests a sort of full-blown decadence or decay. Certain feat-
ures of the culture, like warfare and religion, were over-elab-
orated. Like the Old Empire period of the Maya Indians
in Central America and Southern Mexico, the Mississippi
Cultures in the late period seem to have reached the limit of
their potential development.
A History of the Mississippi Cultures 39
Something further: eastern tribes, Siouan, Algonkian, and
later, Iroquoian, began to emerge from a generalized Mississ-
ippi-Woodland mixture, and began to press westward be-
cause of white settlement on the Atlantic coast. These tribes
had begun to develop sometime during the beginning of the
late period, or before, and then suddenly achieved great
strength toward the end of the late period. They warred
on the survivors of the late Mississippi cultures, driving them
westward, so that we find some very late, decadent-type sites
in eastern Oklahoma. The large and old Mississippi settle-
ment at St. Louis must have been under severe pressure, be-
cause it sent a sudden, forced migration northward, which
entered the Rock River Valley and established a heavily for-
tified site in Wisconsin which we call Aztalan. The traces of
this movement can be found in Jo Daviess County, in north-
western Illinois. The big Kincaid site in southern Illinois was
abandoned just before the religious cult, mentioned earlier,
had really taken hold.
We date the full development of the religious cult about
1635 A. D. All Mississippi sites subsequent to this date show
its infuence, with the exception of Aztalan, which was too far
north and too isolated to receive the influence. The Trap-
pist culture in central Illinois had one form of the cult ; Trapp-
ist is one of the exceptions to the rule it sems to have with-
stood the impact of hostile tribes and persisted until historic
times (about 1700). Some believe the Illinois Indians had
a Trappist Mississippi culture.
The Historic Period
As the Mississippi Cultures approached their peak of de-
velopment, they influenced other cultures at the western and
northern margins of the area, and also began to experience
internal changes. Toward the end of the late period, this
process was hastened by the fact that Mississippi Cultures
were becoming isolated from one another. Whenever cul-
tures lose contact with one another, they begin to change.
In the northwestern area, Mississippi Cultures began to
change into semi-nomadic types at a relatively early date
40 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
about 1550. The early date of this change produced histori-
cal developments that can be considered separately from the
latter transitions of Late Period Mississippi into semi-no-
madic types. The older type of Mississippi at St. Louis
(the Old Village culture) seems to have been partly respon-
sible for the formation of the general northwestern type of
historic Mississippi : the Oneota culture. In some localities
we can find clear cases of transition. However, since the
Winnebago type of Oneota \vas established in Wisconsin by
at least 1600, it is possible that the origins of historic Mississ-
ippi may reach back beyond even the Late Period. Alth-
ough we can say in general that the Oneota type of develop-
ment is later than Late Period Mississippi (in most places
it continued down to 1700), we must not forget that pure
Mississippi survived in several places. The Trappist cult-
ure of central Illinois is an example.
A slightly different type of Oneota, also probably Siouan-
speaking, was in western Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.
None of these cultures was as complex as the late period
Mississippi development ; all of them tended to be much less
sedentary in their mode of life, the Winnebago perhaps ex-
cepted. Many of their artifacts and pottery showed the old
Mississippi traits, but by and large the culture was different.
In very late times, probably about 1700, Oneota culture in-
fluenced the pure form of old Mississippi still surviving in
central Illinois (Trappist).
In eastern Illinois, other cultures closely related to Oneota
are found. They appear, however, to have developed from
a more generalized mixture of old Mississippi Cultures, rath-
er than Cahokia. In Ohio and northern Kentucky, still an-
other historic type of Mississippi appeared : the Fort Ancient
culture. This type seems to have developed out of a com-
bination of the late period Mississippi cultures of the upper
Tennessee River Valley and certain Woodland cultures of
the north.
Far northwest on the Missouri River, Mandan and other
Indians developed a culture which shows many similarities
A History of the Mississippi Cultures 41
to Cahokia, but much greater ones to older Plains cultures,
which in turn may have been a combination of early period
Mississippi and Woodland. The history of Mississippi in
the Plains area has been quite complicated, and we cannot
really do it justice in this short a paper.
In New York State, fragments of the dispersed Mississ-
ippi Cultures combined with old Woodland cultures to pro-
duce the Iroquois type of historic Mississippi.
In the deep Southeast, a purer but degenerated form of
late period Misissippi remained. The Indians known as the
Creeks, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and others were building
mounds and following many of the old religious customs
when they were first described in the late 17th century by
white traders and explorers. This fact gives us a clue as to
the tribal meaning of late period Mississippi : on the whole,
they must have been Muskogean-speaking Indians, for all
the groups mentioned above, excepting the Cherokee who
spoke Iroquoian, had Muskogean Dialects. The northern
Mississippi people of this time, like Cahokia and Kincaid,
however, were probably not Muskogean,. Siouan and Al-
gonquian seems to be a better guess.
There is danger in trying to be too precise in identifying
these late period cultures with historic tribes, however. The
term "tribe" is really an artificial conception which anthro-
pologists apply to general groups of Indians living in the
same territory. Actually the Indians may not have thought
of themselves as belonging to tribes. It was not until Indians
got into the Plains, and travelled in closely-associated groups,
that they developed this idea. The Iroquois had a pretty
clear tribal idea, also. In the late period, it is much more
likely that Mississippi Indians thought of themselves as belong-
ing to one town or another. The many small villages around
the towns may have payed tribute to the big urban centers
where the priests and chieftains lived. Some of these big
towns may have been organized into political confederacies,
which warred with one another. The Creek Indians actually
had such organizations in historic times.
42 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
In the lower Mississippi valley, cultures showing relations
to both the late period Mississippi Cultures and the distinct
lower valley Coles Creek cultures remained into historic times.
The Natchez and Caddo Indians are typical of these groups.
The latter eventually moved out into the Plains and lost most
of their original complex Mississippi-lower valley type of
culture.
So much for the history of Mississippi Cultures. Although
most of our conclusions are to be regarded as tentative, it is
believed that the available evidence indicates that the gen-
eral outline is probably sound. It is hoped the reader may
find it useful in visualizing the prehistory of the eastern
United States.
Honorary Members
Mrs. Vina Sherwood Adams, Battle Creek, Mich.
Dorothy M. Brown, Madison
Dr. W H. Brown, Wauwatosa
Dr. D.' S. Bullock, Angol, Chile
Dr. Geo. S. Collie, New Harbor, Maine
Mrs. W. A. Divine, Madison
Robert P. Ferry, Lake Mills
Rev. Phillip Gordon, Centuria
Alexander C. Guth, Milwaukee
C. L. Harrington, Madison
Dr. T. M. Nelson Lewis, Knoxville, Tenn.
Laura Lapham Lindow, Milwaukee
Angie Kumlien Main, Ft. Atkinson
Frank Mueller, Princeton
Rev. A. J. Muench, Fargo, N. D.
Geo. Overton, Oshkosh
Mrs. J. L. Perkins, Stone Lake
Gen. J. G. Salsman, U. S. Veterans Home, Waupaca
Dr. Peter L. Scanlon, Prairie du Chien
Dr. A. B. Stout, N. Y. Botanical Garden,N. Y. C.
Chief Yellow Thunder, Wisconsin Dells
W. A. Titus, Fond du Lac
Mrs. Ella A Wiswell, Madison
Indian Laws 43
INDIAN LAWS
By George Overton
Oshkosh, Wis.
In an aboriginal Indian community it was necessary that
there be regulations governing the general conduct of the in-
dividuals who comprise that community. Their code of eth-
ics was the outgrowth of long association as a community.
Little or no restrictions were necessary where the group was
small and the hunting good. When the groups grew larger,
thru banding together for mutual protection or family ties,
some sort of regulation became of the utmost importance.
Their code became so thoroly ingrained into the Indian char-
acter that no specific penalties were generally needed as a de-
terrent. The Indian's social and religious codes were so close-
ly allied that in most cases his fear of the displeasure of some
spirit kept him in line. Any infringment of the accepted rules
called for concerted disapproval by his fellows. He had great
respect for the good opinion of his fellow tribesmen and would
go to great length to maintain their approbation. Public sen-
timent shaped his course of action except in extreme cases,
then the leaders of the tribe assembled in council and tried
the case and imposed a penalty.
Weapons to an Indian meant the difference between life and
death. Deprived of weapons or implements he was without
means to procure food or to defend himself. The aborigines
recognized the importance of always being prepared and never
made free with another's weapons. Later this came to include
implements and utensils. In a highly communistic society the
property rights of an individual of the same tribe or band were
strictly adhered to. Stealing among members of a tribe was
unknown until long after they had been exposed to the white
man's ways.
An Indian never appropriated to his own use anything that
had been offered as a gift to propitiate a spirit good or bad.
Such offerings, often hung on a pole or tree near a shrine,
44 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
were never molested no matter how valuable or how urgent
might be an individual's need.
Food in the wilderness was generally abundant and easily
procurable tho there were seasons when it was scarce. De-
pendent absolutely on their own efforts for food, clothing,
and shelter they learned in the hard way to make everything
count. The aborigines handed down that fundamental prin-
ciple of conservation, to take only as much of anything as
they could utilize without waste. Their only way of preser-
ving seasonal food was by drying and smoking. Lack of
adequate storage facilities often accounted for a great loss
of this preserved food.
During the annual spawning run of fish a band would mi-
grate in a body to an allotted point, and when the run of fish
appeared all were given an equal chance to take their share.
No one could slip in ahead of the others to the disadvantage of
the' rest of the band. It also was unethical for members of one
band to fish in a place allotted to another band as long as their
own allotted spot was productive of fish. This was especially
true of sturgeon fishing on the Fox and Wolf rivers where
fishing stands were jealously guarded year after year.
The Indians had their summer homes near their planting
grounds. Each family had its own allotted garden spot which
it planted and tended. When the. green corn reached the
edible stage no one was allowed to take it, even from their own
plot, till there was enough from all the plots to supply the
entire camp with a big feed. Then they celebrated one of
the most important feasts of the year with merry-making
and dancing. This was the Green Corn Feast. After the
feast they could utilize the remainder of the crop in their own
way.
The Plains Indians were very severe in the penalties they
imposed on any hunter who shot a buffalo in advance of the
regular drive thus jeopardizing the food supply of the entire
band. Instances have been citedwhere the guilty one had his
tepee pulled down over his head and his bow and arrows and
gun smashed before his eyes, and in extreme cases he was ex-
pelled from the tribe.
Indian Laws 45
One of the principal items of food of the northern Wisconsin
Indians was wild rice. This important food plant grew abun-
dantly in shallow water of all our lakes and bayous and along
the margins of streams and rivers where a soft silt bottom af-
forded a hold for its fibrous roots. The kernel of grain is en-
closed in a tight-fitting husk that is hard to remove unless
the harvesting is done at just the right stage of maturity. As
the harvest season approaches careful watch is kept to note the
progress of the grain toward maturity. No one may approach
the rice beds to take any grain before the appointed time.
Everyone has things in readiness for the work in hand. When
the rice has ripened sufficiently then altogether they swarm
over the area where rice is best and harvest is on.
Mr. L. B. Porlier related an experience he had once with
Indian law or code of ethics: "When I was a young man I
was sent by the firm on an errand to the Pwa a khane (Poy-
gan) Lake. As I was passing the Village at Grand Butte I
was hailed and asked to come ashoi^. The chief inquired
w r here I was going. I told him up river beyond Poygan. He
then suggested that I visit with them for a while. I remon-
strated that my business was urgent and I must report to my
firm as soon as possible. The chief replied firmly, 'My Son!
You had better stay with us for a few days ! ' It then dawned
on me that the rice harvest was about due. I was entertained
in the village a few days. One evening word was passed
around that the harvest would start on the morrow. Bright
and early the next morning I joined the flotilla going up
46 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
LOG BUILDING MUSEUMS OF WISCONSIN
Charles E. Brown
Because they represent the prevailing type of pioneer build-
ing architecture in this state log building museums are appro-
priate to almost every community in Wisconsin. In recent
years a number of log buildings have been preserved and con-
verted into museums and replicas of other log buildings have
been built. Thus the state now has a number of log building
museums. We may expect this number to increase as other
communities take up the idea.
So far as known the first museum of this nature was one
erected by Prof. Albert B. Salisbury at the State Teachers Col-
lege at Whitewater in about the year 1907. It was furnished
with pioneer equipment and is still standing in the rear of the
college. Prof. Salisbury was then the superintendent of this
school.
At Antigo the Deleglise house, built in 1877, a museum,
stands on the lawn of the public library. This log building,
which figures prominently in the early history of this region,
is in the care of the Langlade County Historical Society.
In Doty Park at Neenah is "The Loggery," the former log
home of Governor James Duane Doty. It has become a histor-
ic building museum with a fine pioneer collection. It was
built in about 1845 and was christened the "Grand Loggery"
by Mrs. Doty.
At Portage, standing on the site of old Fort Winnebago,
are the Surgeons Quarters of the fort, two connected log build-
ings, built in about 1829. Their restoration was undertaken by
the Daughters of the American Revolution and they will be-
come a historic building museum.
I
On Jean Beau (called Jambeau) Creek near Manitowoc is
the log cabin of the trader Jacques Vieau. The cabin was
built by him in 1795 and served as his home and trading post.
He was then an agent of the North West Fur Company. It is
preserved as a historic building museum.
Log Building Museums of Wisconsin 47
In Mitchell Park, overlooking the Menomonee River Valley
at Milwaukee, is a log replica of a trading post established
on this site by this same Indian trader in this year or later.
In Col. Hans Heg Memorial Park near Waterford, Racine
County, is the Heg Memorial Museum. This consists of two
log cabins standing side by side. One was built by Eliphalet
Cram, a pioneer settler, in 1837. The other is of recent con-
struction, being built in 1935. Both are filled with the histor-
ical treasures of this region.
At Lake Mills an old log cabin is now preserved in a road-
side park by the Lake Mills-Aztalan Historical Society. It
is to be furnished with pioneer furnishings.
I am informed that a second log cabin structure is to be
moved to a place on the Society's Aztalan Church museum
property. This is at present at Waterloo and also once in use,
it is said, as a schoolhouse.
In Carson Park at Eau Claire is the so-named Paul Bunyan
Camp, a logging camp museum. Here have been built four log
buildings representing a cook shanty, a bunkhouse, a black-
smith shop and a camp stable. There is also a wagon shed.
This museum is very rich in material illustrating the history
of a logging camp. This museum is operated under the direct-
ion of the Eau Claire Kiwanis Club, the city contributing to
its support.
There is also a quite widely known logging camp museum at
Rhinelander. It is managed by the local American Legion
Post. It has the distinction of being the first to be erected of
our museums of this nature.
A third logging history museum is at Wabeno in the heart
of the Nicolet National Forest, in Forest County. It was two
years in building and was dedicated at a Paul Bunyan Logging
Exposition and Harvest Festival held on August 22 24, 1941.
This museum has hundreds of pieces of old logging equipment.
Near Oconto, on McClausin Creek near Lakewood, is a build-
ing once in use as a loggers hostelry. This has been presented
to the Oconto County Historical Society. They plan to erect
48 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
here the buildings that will give a true picture of a logging
camp of the style of 1879.
The buildings of Little Norway or Nissedahle, the interest-
ing group of structures in the pretty valley near Blue Mounds,
are of log construction. This is a Norwegian folk or folklore
museum created by the late Isaak Dahle of Chicago.
There are several privately owned log cabin museums in the
state. One of these is Petries Log Cabin Museum at Browns
Lake near Burlington.
The latest addition to the log building museums of Wisconsin,
located at New Glarus, Wisconsin, was dedicated by the Green
County Historical Society on Sunday, September 27, 1942.
It is an accurate replica of an early Green County log cabin
and is furnished in pioneer style.
This cabin museum stands on a five-acre tract of land do-
nated to the county society. A pioneer cheese factory and
other log buildings are to be erected here to form a pioneer
group of buildings.
Perforated Indian Skulls
49
Perforated Indian Skulls
50 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
PERFORATED INDIAN SKULLS
Newell E. Collins
Algonac, Michigan
While the custom of perforating crania after death, as
practiced by primitive peoples, is not limited to North Amer-
ica, on this continent it seems to be confined to that part of
the Great Lakes region comprising New York, Ohio, south-
eastern Michigan and the adjoining Ontario peninsula. In
other words, the finding of perforated Indian skulls is limited
to a distance of some three hundred miles from the City of
Detroit. However, Detroit is by no means the geographical
center of the area, as it extends to the north, east and south
rather than to the west.
From the paper " Perforated Indian Crania in Michigan,"
published by Dr. W. B. Hinsdale and Dr. Emerson F. Greenman,
we read that as early as 1876 Henry Gillman, one time curator
of the Detroit Scientific Society and one of the earliest local
writers on archeological subjects, described perforated
skulls which had been exhumed from mounds on four widely
separated sites in Michigan: the Au Sable River near Alpena,
the Devil River in the same general part of the state, the vic-
inity of Saginaw and the Great Mound at Springwells, near
Detroit.
Following this, little attention seems to have been paid to the
subject until 1934, when, in that one year, perforated skulls
were found on three other Michigan sites: the Roy Younge
farm in Goodland Township, Lapeer County ; Flat Rock, Hur-
on Township, Monroe County; and Farmington Township,
Oakland County. These discoveries doubtless inspired Hins-
dale and Greenman to prepare their publication, which is dated
at Ann Arbor, August 15, 1936.*
However, since that date other perforated skulls have been
discovered: one ^ with three holes in the Gibralter mound in
1937, and another with two perforations at Algonac, Mich-
igan, in September, 1942. Possibly there are others. At the
present time there are seven sites in the general vicinity of De-
*Perforated Indian Crania in Michigan, Univ. Mich. Press.
Perforated Indian Skulls 51
troit where perforated crania have been found : 1. Winsor, On-
tario, directly across the river from Detroit; 2. The Great
Mound at Springwells ; 4^ miles from the center of the city to
the southwest; 3. Gibraltar, 18 miles to the southwest; 4. Flat
Bock, about the same distance and in the same general direc-
tion ; 5. Farmington, 15 miles northwest of Detroit ; 6. Lapeer,
60 miles north of the city; and 7. Algonac, 35 miles to the
northeast.
While records of earlier discoveries are lacking, and many
of the crania found are in a fragmentary condition, it may
be noted that there is a wide variety in the size and number
of perforations, some of those found in Canada having as
many as six holes. From some a disk of considerable diameter
has been removed by cutting rather than drilling. Gener-
ally the openings are made at the top of the skull.
Many of the burials have certain features in common : Inter-
ment made in sandy soil; crania disarticulated; skeleton
incomplete, long arm and leg bones included and in some
cases perforated at the ends ; skulls of animals sometimes in-
cluded in the burials ; face bones covered with clay.
So far, the Algonac site has produced but one skull ; however,
as solitary burials seem to be the exception rather than the rule,
it is possible that this site will produce additional specimens
later.
Gibraltar Skull
In 1937 Gwynne F. Cushman excavated from a mound at
Gibraltar, Michigan a skull which had three perforations ar-
ranged in a transverse line. This mound had been a verit-
able gold mine of archeological and historical material. It
was close to a highway and "pothunters" and high school
boys had rifled it of this material. In it were found a number
of pottery vessels, a large steatite eagle-effigy pipe, a beauti-
ful platform pipe, copper beads, long blue-black flint knives,
mica artifacts, and other artifacts of great interest. This
mound has been dug and re-dug many times.
52 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
Algonac Skull
On the afternoon of Monday, September 28, 1942, Mr. and
Mrs. G. F. Cushman and the writer made the rounds of the
ancient village sites in the vicinity of Algonac, making the
final stop at the "Nook," at the outskirts of Algonac village
in the rear of Kuhn's Tavern and only a few hundred yards
from the Chris Smith Boat Plant. This site had not been visit-
ed previous!}', although there were rumors that projectile
points had been found on the spot. The site is a low sandy
ridge of irregular shape but of considerable area and is about
1500 feet inland from the shore of the North Channel of the
St. Clair delta. Although the ridge is for the most part bare,
there are a few scattered oaks growing on it. Two large
"blow holes" are situated in the clear section; probably these
were natural although they have been enlarged, as much sand
has been trucked away for fill elsewhere. In fact one truck
was working here at the time of our visit.
The "blow hole" farther to the southeast produced a few
small pottery fragments. The other and larger one, where the
truck was working, produced some fire-broken cooking stones
and some segments of turtle shell. But while idly scraping
down the edge of the excavation with a trowel, human bones
were brought to light about two feet below the ground level.
These proved to be a bundle burial and included the long arm
and leg bones. Although these were carefully uncovered, they
were in such an advanced state of decomposition that it is
impossible to say whether or not hand and foot bones had been
included. Nor could it be determined whether or not these
long bones had been pierced or drilled. They had been depos-
ited one on top of another and there seemed to be no attempt
at systematic arrangement.
No artifacts were found with the burial except a single pot-
sherd, a portion of rim bevelled inside and out and very
elaborately incised. Mrs. Cushman uncovered a celt blade in
the bank a few feet from the burial. Fragments of turtle
shell were numerous in the blow hole, and later an animal skull
(probably that of a dog) was found there.
Arts and Crafts of the American Indian 53
Working- along- the bones with infinite care, using- a brush
and a sharpened twig, the skull was uncovered, lying on its
left side, the face turned toward the east. The right side of
the skull was somewhat crushed by the weight of earth. When
the top of the cranium was uncovered it was seen to be perfo-
rated, although it was not until it had been dried out and the
sand brushed away that it was seen to have two perforations.
The face had been plastered over with clay or river mud.
The two perforations are through the parietal bones and
measure about five-eights inch in diameter; they are spaced
about seventh-eights inch apart.
This burial seems to have certain characteristics in common
with those described by Hinsdale and Greenman in their
booklet ' * Perforated Crania in Michigan, ' ' published in August,
1936 : face covered with clay, mueh of the skeleton missing, etc.
It would be interesting to know if the Indians had ?ny particu-
lar method in their practice of not including the complete
skeleton in these burials. Were the same bones omitted in
every case? The bones found with this burial have been pre-
served, but they are badly decomposed. Certain it is, however,
that the arm and leg bones were included and that the ribs,
pelvic bones, collar bones, shoulder blades and vertebrae were
missing. If foot and hand bones had been included, they could
not be identified as such.
Greenman pronounces the skull that of a female, fifty to
fifty-five years of age, and undoubtedly a person of conse-
quence.
54 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
ARTS AND CRAFTS OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
Mary M. Vandenburgh
Milwaukee, Wis.
About 100 years ago many tribes of the American Indians
were forced to sell their land, where they had lived for centur-
ies. Since that time they have been for the most part an un-
settled people, clinging with silent Indian tenacity to their
traditions, trying to eke out an existance in the whiteman's
world the cities, on the reservation, or on waste lands some-
what similar to the surroundings which their grandfathers
knew, such as central Canada.
By about 1919, bit by bit, the strange, bright scene of In-
dian life was rapidly fading from our woods and plains.
Something completely American, some real and vivid part of
the drama of mankind, was in danger of being wholly lost.
Any attempt to snatch back from oblivion a fragment of
the old life, especially an attempt by the Indians themselves,
is worthy of attention, and encouraging help. Floyd W.
Larouche, field representative of the Indian Service, says:
"There has come a resurgence of Indian culture, economy
and spirit, the fruits of which no man can accurately foretell.
"Many of the Indians are self-supporting. The Government
has pledged itself to turn over to the Indians certain lands
and other considerations in return for the surrender by In-
dians of vastly greater areas of land.
"In the areas where Indians have been permitted to retain
their holdings they have been generally self-supporting. It
is only where the whiteman failed to keep his promise that
Indians have become a drain on the public purse."
John Collier, long an advocate of Indian reform, was made
Indian Commissioner in 1933. His objectives were :
"To move the Indian to\vard economic self-support, includ-
ing restoration of lands, credit and training; to speed final
settlement of Indian tribal claims against the Government;
to establish civil liberty; to promote conservation of natural
resources in Indians' hands; to seek conservation of the Indian
Arts and Crafts of the American Indian 55
social heritage, protection of Indian ceremonial life and reinvig or-
ation of their arts and crafts; and to decentralize Indian admin-
istration and to recruit talent especially suited to administra-
tion of the Indian service."
In many instances Indians conduct their own businesses
on reservations, and Indian co-operatives are gaining in popu-
larity.
Mr. Larouche states: "Indians have manifested surprising
capacities as businessmen, frequently showing an inherent
economic wisdom, driving shrewd bargains, and making better
than expected profits."
In the Western states they have gone into cattle raising,
their profits have increased more than 1,,000% in seven years,
and the Woodland Indians, east of the Mississippi River, have
gardens, logging camps and mills, and sell handicraft art-
icles.
LaFarge* has said:
"Economics and tradition meet in the field of Indian art.
There is no more perfect example of how the future flows
from the past, nor of the adaptation of Indian qualities to a
changing world.
"Tribes such as the Pueblo of San Ildefonso have tipped
their economic balance in recent years from poverty to com-
fort by the combined practice of unchanged, traditional arts
and the newer ones. These arts were long discouraged by the
whiteman's schools, since in learning them, the children gained
respect for their elders, and since they carried so heavy a
charge of ancient traditions. Now a special law set up an Arts
and Crafts Board, to foster Indian art in every economically
sound form, with results already important for many tribes."
May I interpolate the admonition : patronize the Indian
handicrafter.
"As in every other part of the present-day problem, when
you help the Indian you also serve the whole American com-
*O. LaFarge: As Long as the Grass Shall Grow.
56 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
munity. Indians and whites alike have been preyed upon
by the makers of fake Indian goods, or those who hire In-
dians to work at such things as Navajo jewelry under sweated
conditions and with mechanical devices that destroy all native
quality. Today, in buying Indian silverwork, for instance,
the .tourist need only look for the Arts and Crafts Board's
hallmark, protecting him and the Indian maker alike."
What we now call "Indian handicraft," are items which
formerly were essential to the Indian's way of living. He
used whatever was at hand for the making of these items,
whereas we can obtain the materials at handicraft shops; or,
if we are ambitious enough, the simpler materials can be gotten
in the woods or along the roadside.
Griswold* has said:
"American youth tod-iy is struggling with terrific conflicts
due to the rapidly changing economic and social structure.
Under our highly specialized civilization, living is complex
and artificial. We must help him emerge from adolescent
instability, with a receptive mind, capacity for achievement
and sensitive to spiritual and cultural values. Many and
subtle are the values found in the camp and club program
based upon the activities of the native American Indian. Un-
limited opportunities are afforded for normal wholesome ex-
pression of the creative urge in youth. He recognizes the
skill, ingenuity and tireless effort back of the Indian's work
when he attempts to follow Indian technique and use native
materials, and appreciates the fact that the Indian possesses
the true spirit of the artist craftsman with whom time and
effort count little and the achievement of purpose means so
much. ' '
So many articles made by the Indian can be worn today,
fashionably.
Some of the primitive crafts employed by the American
Indian which lend themselves favorably to projects which
can be put to use today, are :
*L. Griswold: Handicraft.
Arts and Crafts of the American Indian
57
Project
bone and horn
pottery
weaving
stone flaking
jewel beads and
animal or bird
claws
silverwork
beads and quills
Primitive Item
combs
roach spreaders
bracelets
beads
arrowheads
cooking utensils
blankets
basket bags
rugs
sashes
arrowheads
necklaces
costume jewelry
ornamental cos-
tume
Today's Item
bugles
neckerchief slides
rings
belt buckles
buttons
archer's bow tips
dish ware
bases
blankets
purses
bags
rugs
scarfs
neckties
arrowheads set as
on a pin, or charm
on necklace or
watch fob
necklaces
charms
pins, rings, bracelets
necklaces
envelope openers
earrings
belt buckles and
buttons
belts, necklaces,
bracelets
rings
hat bands
decorating on dress
watch fobs
coin purses
58
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
horse hair
anklets
on leather:
rosettes
belts
roaches
hat bands
bracelets
feathers headdresses decorations on hats
headdresses
bustles
fans
leather (buckskin) clothing moccasins for woods
and indoor wear
shirts
trousers
gloves
So, do patronize the Indian craftsman. His art and the ar-
ticles he makes are of the best workmanship, will last the long-
est, and one will never grow tired of its beauty and the artis-
tic work he has achieved.
Junior Members
Michael Besel, 723 N. Garfield Ave., Milwaukee
Marjorie Bullock, Oshkosh
Robert Hall, 914 E. Mason St , Green Bay
Peter Knudsen, 2890 N. Hills Dr., N. E. Atlanta, Ga.
Lawrence Kracht, Jefferson
Bernard L Luech, 621 W. Galen St., Seattle, Wash.
Ted Merrell, 1723 E. 6 St., Superior
Mary Jane Overton, R. 4, Oshkosh
James E. Vasquer, 212 S. Cedar St., Horicon
Wm. Willoughby, Jr , 696 Rahway Ave., Westfield, N. J.
Chert Flakings 59
CHERT FLAKINGS
As we go to press the Legislature instead of adjourning has
recessed until early 1944, leaving the Black Hawk Trail Study,
Bill 383A, nonconcured in the Senate after passing the Assemby
73 to 15.
S 194, doubling the appropriation for forest lands in the south-
eastern 15 counties has become law under Governor GoodLand.
Commonly known as the "Kettle Moraine Bill," the funds are
derived from a forestry mill tax upon property. Members are
urged to study it so known archeological sites in this area might
be acquired.
Our picnic held Sunday August 8th in Milwaukee at Estabrook
Park on the Milwaukee river was a success. After meeting at the
Church House Museum, we went across the river to the Teller Mound
group just east of the Milwaukee Ordnance Plant of the U. S. Rubber
ompany in the 15 acre tract owned by the Berthlet Estate. The
area is industrially zoned and was recently leased to the U. S. Rubber
Company. A newly graded road to a rubbish burning inclosure in the
center of this wooded tract narrowly missed an effigy mound.
The new officials were unaware of the presence of mounds, though
this is the only mound group left within Milwaukee County. We
hope to meet with the officials and enlighten them.
Our members Joseph Ringeisen, Jr., Agnes Lookaround anu Chief
Yellow Thunder were recently featured in Milwauke Journal Green
Sheet stories.
Dr. S. A. Barrett, retired director of the Milwaukee Public Museum,
and president of the Wisconsin Archeological Society for several
terms is now at the University of California in Berkley as head of
the government project for training Army officers about the coun-
try and people of those sections of the Pacific involved in the war.
Professor Ralph Linton, former head of the University of Wis-
consin Anthropology department and now head of the Department
of Anthropology at Columbia University, New York City, has
most of his time taken, up teaching in The Columbia School of Inter-
national Administration.
Former Associate Professor Charlotte Gower of the University
of Wisconsin Anthropology department has been appointed in
charge of the Women's Marine section and is in Washington, D. C.
We are informed that Dr. Paul H. Nesbitt has left the Logan
Museum at Beloit and is now a captain in the Air Forces as a
specialist in Desert Warfare and is stationed in one of our south-
ern camps.
Charles Brown of the Wisconsin Historical Museum at Madison
and a contributor in this i&sue has recently published for The
Wisconsin Folklore Society two new booklets. One is "Brimstone
Bill,' ' a series of tall tales of the famous bullwacker of Paul Bunyan's
logging camps. It is dedicated to two of our members, H. S. Kent,
our Wautoma editor and Alonzo W. Pond, in charge of Cave of the
Mounds at Blue Mounds. "Bluenose Brainerd Stories" is a col-
lection of log cabin tales from the Chippewa Valley in the Wisconsin
North Woods.
As we go to press we are informed that a Fort Atkinson committee
has been appointed to consider the feasibility of purchasing the 80
acre property of the Hoard Hotel golf course and Indian mounds at
Lake Koshkonong. Skavlem describes this unusual and important
group in the Wisconsin Archeologist of April, 1908, volume 7, num-
60 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 3
The fourth edition of "Baraboo, Dells, and Devils Lake Region" is
still available from Mrs. H. E. Cole, Baraboo, Wisconsin for 65c
each.
We are informed by the weekly Science News Letter, published
at 1719 N Street N. W., Washington, D. C., that members of scien-
tific organizations such as ours are entitled to a 40% discount on
the annual five dollar subscription.
A large art map, 22x33 inches, of the Indians of the Great Lakes
region is available free by writing Badger Paper Mills, Peshtigo,
Wisconsin.
Recently I prepared small maps of the Indian history of the
Milwaukee and Okauchee lake region for the talk given by Dr.
Charles Brown to the Milwaukee County Historical Society and
for the picnic of the Milwaukee County Board at Okauchee.
The recent issue of the Minnesota Archeologist is devoted to
Wisconsin archeology and reprints in full W. C. McKern's recent ar-
ticle in the Wisconsin Magazine of History on the Indian prehistory
of Wisconsin.
Our Madison region members are busy trying to purchase and
save the large mound on the shores of Lake Monona which is threat-
ened with destruction because a road is platted thru it.
Because a great number of our issues go to libraries and public
institutions, we are looking for a suitable cover improvement. Jack-
son County Surveyor, David Blencoe of Alma Center has sent in
an interesting new cover design.
Because of the great number of war camps and training schools in
Wisconsin, members are urged to contribute the price of a subscrip-
tion to the nearest camp library in their locality.
We also desire monetary donations so as to enable us to add a
few cuts to each issue.
Members who observe that gas rationing is stopping vital arch-
eological research and exploration are notified to try and utilize
OPA gasoline rule in Section 1394.7851 B2i which pertains to
transportation of personnel and equipment of a scientific expedition
organized or sponsored by a recognized scientific organization or
museum; and see ration board.
We regret the passing of one of our most active life members in
northeastern Wisconsin, John P. Schumacher, 200 Cherry St., Green
Bay.
New members :
Julius Stock, Milwaukee.
Wm. Saunders, Oshkosh.
James E. Vasquer, Horicon (Junior).
THE WISCONSIN AftCHEOLOGIST
Published Quarterly: March, June, September and December
County Surveyor, Office: Court House
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Vol. 24 DECEMBER 1943 No. 4
Black Hawk Retreat in Dane County
Kumlien Mounds and Centennial
Hoard Mounds Threatened
Monona Mound
The " Grand Spring"
Lapham's Peak Name Retained
Kohler Guth
State Laws
For the Purpose of Studying and Preserving
Wisconsin 's Antiquities
Wisconsin Archeological Society
Room 2, County Surveyor's Office
Milwaukee, (3) Wisconsin
Incorporated 1903
For the purpose of advancing- the study and preservation of
Wisconsin Indian Antiquities
'jverv third Monday of the mcmtjh at the Milwaukee Public Museum
Trustees Room. (Except during July and August)
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Arthur P. Kannenberg, Oshkosh Public Museum
VICE PRESIDENTS
W. K. Andrew A. K. Fisher Louis Pierron
Kermit Freckman Robert B. Hartman
DIRECTORS
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr. Vetal Winn
ADVISORY COUNCIL
FreHeric Heath
M. F. Hulbert
(Reedsburg)
Zida C. Ivey
(Ft. Atkinson)
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
(Wild Rose)
Dr. A. L. Kastner
B. W. Knoblock
(LaGrange, 111.)
J. J. Knudsen
(Atlanta, Ga.)
TREASURER
G. M. Thorne
917 N. Forty-ninth Street, Milwaukee, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR
Walter Bubbert
Room 2, County Surveyor's Office, Court House
Residence: 1516 No. 37th St., Milwaukee, Wis.
ASSISTANT EDITORS
G. M. Thorne W. C. McKern
Archeoloffical Society, Room 2, Court House, Milwaukee 3 Wis. It is distributed
to members as part of their dues. Entered as Second Class Matter at the P. O.
at Milwaukee, Wis., under Act of Aug. 21, 1912.
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Charles E. P
(Madison)
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
(Oshkosh)
Erwin G. Burg
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
(New London)
W. E. Erdman
(Horicon)
John G. Gregory
A. E. Koerner
Mrs. Th^o. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
W. C. McKern
T. L. Miller
Robert Ritzenthaler
Charles G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
V. S. Taylor
'Lake Mills)
G. R. Zilisch
(Hustisford)
COMMITTEES
REGULAR
STATE SURVEY Wm. K. Andrew, Kermit Freckman, Robert R.
Jones, Frank M. Neu, Harold Bullock, M. F. Hulbert, W. E.
Erdman, Dr. P. H. Nesbitt, Charles E. Brown, Erwin Burg,
George L. Pasco.
MOUND PRESERVATION Louis Pierron, Towne L. Miller, H. O.
Zander, C. A. Koubeck, Arthur W. Quan, Paul Scholz, Vetal
Winn, Dr. O. W. Ebert, Ray Owen.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS R. N. Buckstaff, N. J. Behnke, Frederic
Heath, Gerald C. Stowe, Zida C. Ivey, Rev. F. S. Dayton, Mark
H. Knight, N. W. Roeder, Jens Jacobson, Rev. Peter 0. John-
son, Charles E. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE G. M. Thome, Dr. H. W. Kuhm,
Dr. L. S. Buttles, Dr. A. L. Kastner, Mrs. Theodore Koerner,
Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich,
M. G. Schmidt, J. K. Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS C. L. Harrington, Walter
Holsten, Mrs. Robert E. Friend, Robert Hartman, H. G. Rueping.
PUBLICITY Mrs. Wm. K. Andrew, H. J. Kent, Mrs. Theo. Koerner,
Albert Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlon, Dorothy M. Brown.
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Charles G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell,
W. C. McKern.
SPECIAL
PUBLICATIONS Walter Bubbert, A. E. Koerner, G. M. Thorne, W.
C. McKern, Dr. H. W. Kuhm.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Fred Scholz, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hoefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Mary Vandenburgh,
Richard W. Moore, Robert Hartman.
PERMANENT STANDING
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A. Bar-
rett, Charles G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
CODIFYING THE TYPES OF ARCHEOLOGIAL SITES IN WIS-
CONSIN W. C. McKern, Kermit Freckman, Erwin Burg.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Life Members, $25.00 Endowment Members, $500.00
Sustaining Members, $5.00 Annual Members, $2.00
Institutional Members, $1.50 Junior Members, $ .50
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Aicheologicel Society should
be addressed to Walter Bubbert, Rcom 2, Court House, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be addressed to him. Dues
should be sent to G. M. Thorne, Treasurer, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
THE WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
CONTENTS
Page
Black Hawk Retreat in Dane County 61
Albert O. Barton
Kumlien Centennial and Mounds 68
Albert O. Barton
Hoard Mounds Threatened
Editor
Hoard Mounds 73
Zida C. Ivey
Monona Mound 78
Charles Edward Brown
The "Grand Spring" 78
Charles Edward Brown
Lap ham 's Peak Name Retained 80
Marie C. Kohler 82
Alexander C. Guth ........ 83
State Archeological Laws 84
Sinnissippi A Review 85
Have-... You.... Read 85
Chert Flakings 90
Editor
THE WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 24 No. 4
MILWAUKEE, WIS., DECEMBER, 1943
New Series
BLACK HAWK RETREAT IN DANE COUNTY
A, 0. Barton
Dane County Register of Deeds
(Editor's note: This abstract of paper presented at the iTieeting of
the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, Milwaukee,
April 17,1943, illustrates how copies of the first surveyor general
field notes and maps in the state land office Records, at Madison,
in the County Register of Deeds and County Surveyor's offices, are
of use in locating Indian trails and village sites.)
The Black Hawk war should have been an Illinois war, but
unfortunately most of it was fought in Wisconsin, and un-
fortunately to the disgrace of Wisconsin, where propably not
a drop of blood need have been shed, since Black Hawk was
retreating all the time, seeking only to return to the west side
of the Mississippi and trying vainly at all times to arrange a
peaceful understanding and a safe passage out for his war-
riors and his people.
His retreat covered the whole length of Dane County from
east to west. . This area was crossed probably between July 18
and 21, 1832 inclusive. After committing several massacres
in Illinois notably that at Indian Creek and after several
clashes with troops, Black Hawk had fled up the valley of the
Rock River past Lake Koshkonong, Jefferson County, in the
latter part of May and had gone into hiding in the lake region
near the present site of Hustisford, Dodge County. During
the month of June Gen. Atkinson, Col. Henry Dodge and
others had been organizing militia and building forts and
stockades in the lead mining area of southwestern Wiscon-
sin. About the middle of July, Gen. Atkinson dispatched Col.
Dodge, Gen. James D. Henry and a detachment of troops to
go from Fort Koshkonong to Fort Winnebago (Portage) for
supplies. When returning their scouts came upon traces of
62 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
Black Hawk's departure and retreat in Jefferson County and
immediately took up the persuit westward, sending their sup-
plies to Gen. Atkinson, and not consulting him. Black Hawk
and his followers had apparently descended the Rock River,
following its course from Hustis Rapids to the neighborhood
of Johnson's Creek, and then had turned westward and cross-
ed the Crawfish River at Aztalan and headed toward Lake Rip-
ley, near the site of the present village of Cambridge. At
this point they entered Dane County, hiding in the swamps and
deep grass, then traveling westward toward the Madison
lakes. After passing over the present site of Madison between
Lakes Monona and Mendota, they headed northward for the
Wisconsin River, near the present site of Sauk City.
This took place on July 20, 1832. That night the Indians
camped at the present site of the village of Pheasant Branch,
at the head of Lake Mendota, now adjoining the village of
Middleton. On the same night Col. Dodge and Gen. Henry
and their rangers camped about a quarter of a mile northeast
of Lake Monona. The next morning the Indians started for
the Wisconsin River and the white soldiers followed in pur-
suit over the present site of Madison. In crossing the Yahara
River near Lake Monona, they came upon an Indian warrior
sitting dejectedly on the grave of his wife. To put him out
of his misery and to be on the safe side, they ended his
life with a bullet. So fast was the persuit that it is said forty
horses of the white troopers gave out before the rear guard
of twenty Indians was encountered near the Wisconsin River.
Black Hawk may have had about 300 warriors ; but he also had
many women, children, old people, and considerable baggage,
as when he had crossed the Mississippi at Rock Island to oc-
cupy his old village on the Rock, he had taken his whole tribe
en masse with him. Many had now been lost due to death,
desertion and other causes.
Col. Dodge assigned every fourth man to hold the horses
and with the others attacked the Indians. Black Hawk had
started sending his women and children and baggage down a
Black Hawk Retreat In Dane County 63
small stream, between the present townships of Roxbury and
Mazomanie, to the Wisconsin River. His warriors he had
posted on the high ground overlooking the river; hence the
name "Battle of Wisconsin Heights." From here he directed
their operations. The Indians sought to surround the white
troops, but were driven back and sought refuge in the deep
grass near the river. This was near evening and a rain was
falling, so Gen. Henry and Col. Dodge returned to their
horses and camped for the night. In the night Black Hawk
succeeded in getting his whole band over the river and con-
tinued his flight westward. A few had been killed and
wounded on each side, the Indians taking their wounded with
them. So ended the battle of Wisconsin Heights. An In-
dian orator made a long harrangue in the night evidently in-
tended for the white troops. It was believed he was making a
defense of the Indians and a plea for a chance to return west.
Also he may have done it to keep the whites on guard while
the escape was in progress.
The next day the white soldiers went overland to the fort
at Blue Mounds for supplies, and three weeks later Black
Hawk's band was cut to pieces and largely exterminated at
the Bad Axe massacre in Vernon County. Soon afterwards
Black Hawk was taken prisoner, and after being confined for
a time at Fort Crawford, taken by Col. Jefferson Davis down
the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Writing near the end of his
life, the one-time President of the southern confederacy said
he had studied Black Hawk's generalship at the battle of Wis-
consin Heights and that it was of a high order.
Surveyor notations of 110 years ago, found in the state
Land Office at Madison, have lent new interest to the story
of the famous Sauk chieftain who staged the last Indian war
in Wisconsin. In the field notes of the surveyors made in
1832 and 1833 the flight of Black Hawk and hig band from the
four lakes at Madison to the Wisconsin River is shown by mark-
ings on the maps indicating where the pursued and pursuers
crossed section lines on entering or leaving a township. Also
the exact site of the battlefield is shown.
64 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
In the recent session of the Legislature, a bill was intro-
duced, sponsored by Speaker Vernon Thomson, making a
study of the route of Black Hawk in Wisconsin and the erec-
tion of suitable markers at points. Appearing for the bill in
committee were Theodore Herfurth, insurance man and Black
Hawk authority, Dr. Edward P. Alexander, Superintendent
of the State Historical Society and others.
The bill failed of passage, but in the meantime Albert 0. Bar-
ton, Register of Deeds of Dane County, a member of the
committee headed by Mr. Herfurth, made the discovery of the
route taken by Black Hawk from the eastern boundary of
Dane County at Cambridge to the northwest corner near Sauk
City.
The following letter was addressed to Col. J. W. Jackson,
as of February 23, 1943.
Col. J. W. Jackson,
Sec. Madison & Wis. Foundation
Dear Colonel:
I enclose herewith a small map showing roughly the
route followed by Black Hawk and followers from Madi-
son to the Wisconsin River in 1832 as gleaned from records
in the state land office. The notations are taken from
surveys and surveyor's notes set down in 1833, when the
marks of the flight and the battle must have still been
plainly visible. The surveyor was John Mullett. He and
his party marked very plainly just where the battle of
Wisconsin Heights took place near the Wisconsin River
and also noted the points where the pursuing army cross-
ed each township line. It was presumably at these pionts
that the Indians also crossed. (Books of Towns 9 and
10).
From some tracings it would appear that Black Hawk
after going over the upper campus (if the tablet there
is correct) turned south at the University Farm instead of
following the lake shore. There may have been a swamp
between the University Farm and College Hills, as now,
so they seem to have swung over to the old Sauk Road
Black Hawk Retreat In Dane County 65
(present University Ave.). Also as there were women
and children along- they may have wanted to go around
the "mountain" (Eagle Heights) instead of over it.
At the Black Hawk Country Club (the concrete bridge)
they seemed to have turned north again to the lake, as
relics have been found there near Merrill Springs. Then
they followed the lake past Mendota Beach and on to
Pheasant Branch.
At Pheasant Branch they camped over night in a grove,
presumably the present Sakrison grove. They thus enter-
ed Middleton on Sec. 12, near junction of the old and new
roads (Ph Branch). There was then no Middleton and
probably no road west. From the grove they went west to
Section 3 and entered Springfield in Section 34. Then
they went northwest presumably over Sections 34, 28, 29,
and 19. Here they entered Berry in the S. E. ^ of Sec. 24.
Then they went almost north through Sections 24, 14, 11,
2 and 3 into Roxbury, entering Roxbury at S. E. ^ Sec. 34
From there they went through Sections 34, 28, 20 and 19,
into Mazomanie in the middle of Sec. 24. Here the battle
was fought right near the town lines (the later Taylor
farm, I think).
From the battle they went through the deep grass to
the river, crossing to the island opposite Sec. 24, or went
west and crossed to island opposite Sec. 23. Some marks
might indicate the latter. (In Springfield or Berry some
kettes and other baggage were later ploughed up. If
these fields could be located they would mark the exact
route.)
In his field notes Surveyor Mullett left an exact de-
scription of the location of the battlefield, as follows :
'East Boundary Town 9 North, Range 6 East.
Marked on East side Sec. 24.
40.00 (chains y 2 mile) set oak post for qr. sec. corner,
marked y Sec. 24.
W(hite) oak 24 (diameter in inches) ,818 west 1.32 (links).
66 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
B (...) oak 9 N 4 W 2.32.
(These are called "witness trees").
Marked y 4 Sec. 24 B. T. (Bearing trees).
56.50 Stream 3C west (Battle Ground).' (Book 52, 1833).
Little is known as to just where the Indians entered
Dane County from the east. It is said that they were
hard up for food near Deerfield. Possibly they came over
later Seminary Springs road, or even farther north.
A. 0. Barton
Two markers have been erected on the Black Hawk Trail
in Dane County, one on the north side of the hill behind Bas-
com Hall at the University of Wisconsin, and one beside the
road near the Wisconsin Heights battlefield. The latter mar-
ker is a small monument erected by the John Bell Chapter,
Daughters of the American Revolution, and was dedicated on
Labor Day, 1923. The famous chieftain is most strikingly
perpetuated in the giant statue overlooking the Rock River
near Oregon, Illinois, made by the distinguished sculptor
Lorado Taft.
Settlement must have rapidly followed the close of the
Black Hawk War. The exterior of the town of Mazomanie
(the outline) was surveyed by John Mullett and party, and
the "interior" (by sections) was finished in the third quar-
ter of 1833. This shows the battlefield in the N. E. l / 4 of
Sec. 24, near the Roxbury line, by a small stream. (Field
Book No. 52, 1833, in state land office, Madison.)
At the end of this note book the surveyor writes under
the head of "Remarks:"
"On the northeast corner of Section 1 (this would be
over the river in what is now Sank County A.O.B.)
there is a town plat with several houses thereon called
Prairie du Sac. On the east half of Section 12 there is
another town plat known as "Lower Town," on which
there is now building a splendid hotel; there are also
several other dwellings now thereon. On the northeast
quarter of Section 17 there is a corn cracker and a saw-
mill now building."
Black Hawk Retreat In Dane County 67
How far north the Indians went in Jefferson and Dodge
Counties can perhaps be ascertained in those counties. They
were above Watertown. They seemed to have retraced their
route to the vicinity of Aztalan where they crossed the Craw-
fish River at the present site of Aztalan, then struck west
through the present townships of Deerfield, Cottage Grove and
Blooming Grove, crossing the Yahara River near its entrance
into Lake Monona. Soldiers wrote afterwards that the woods
and brush were so dense that they had to follow close to the
lake shore (they don't say what lake, presumably Mendota.)
I wonder if they really went over the University Hill near
Main Hall, if they had to drag along women and children.
They would be apt to follow the more level lake shore or
avoid the hill by following the University ground.
At Pheasant Branch they may have camped in the Sakrison
grove, or the higher wooded ground back of the Pheasant
Branch School which could be better defended and would
be near the famous Bellefontaine Spring with its high look-
out ground.
Your officers have just finished drawing; up and signing a petition
to the next session of the Legislature asking for an annual publication
fund. This fund which has been forthcoming for several decades
was abolished in the early thirties. Members are asked to write the
secretary giving their suggestions as to the best proceedure.
68 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
KUMLIEN MOUNDS SCENE OF KUMLIEN CENTENNIAL
A. 0. Barton
(Editor's Note: The editor attended the Centennial of Thure Kum-
lien's arrival to America, on Sunday, Aug. 23, 1943, and he wishes
to point out that our pioneer naturalist saved from destruction a
group of 27 mounds which form an almost unbroken line along the
crest of a prominent ridge which the road follows from the high-
way to the old homestead. In volume 7, number 2, of our Kosh.
konong Report, published June, 1908, is a complete' report of the
area. Conicals, ovals, linears and one effigy mound are in the
group. The Kumlien decendents hope eventually to make a scien-
tific or historic park of the old homestead, which overlooks at a
distance the Lake Koshkonong in the m/arshes leading to Crab-
apple aftd Carajou Point, the latter the home of the late H. L.
Skavlem..)
On the spot where he settled a hundred years ago this
month near Busseyville, Jefferson County, on the shores of
Lake Koshkonong, descendants, old family friends and lovers
of nature gathered Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to the
memory of Ludwig Kumlien, educated Swedish immigrant,
who was to achieve fame as a scientist and make the name
of Lake Koshkonong known throughout the museums of Eu-
rope and America.
About 200 persons were present at the celebration which
was also made the occasion of a centennial observance b} r
the village of Busseyville. The exercises were held jointly
under the auspieces of the Fort Atkinson Historical Society
and the State Historical Society at the old Kumlien farm,
now owned by Frank Barton. Representatives from other
historical and scientific societies were present from Madison,
Milwaukee, Edgerton, Whitewater, Lake Mills and other
points. No buildings now remain at the old Kumlien place,
but the excavations of cellars, great trees and the great lilac
clumps now mark the site. The celebration was largely ar-
ranged and carried through successfully by Mrs. Angie K.
Main, granddaughter of Kumlien.
Judg-e Rogers Presides
The Edgerton Concert Band furnished music and commun-
ity singing was led by the Busseyville chorus. Judge Charles
B. Rogers, official of the Fort Atkinson Historical Society,
Kumlien Centennial 69
Sec, Li
on ec, n c.
::- D /
Kumlien Group
70 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
presided. High tributes to Kumlien as a scientist and to his
character as a man, were paid by the various speakers, who
also dealt with the hardships and handicaps under which he
labored.
Mrs. Zida C. Ivey, secretary of the Fort Atkinson Historical
Society and director of the Dwight Poster Museum, read
letters of tribute from various societies and individuals.
The writer, who has translated a journal kept by Kumlien
during the first five years of his residence in America, spoke
on "Kumlien the Pioneer." The recent Havighurst novel,
"The Tides of Spring," which many believe to be a Kumlien
story is true to life only in showing the terrible hardships
endured by the pioneers of the time.
As such it gives a faithful picture of the conditions of
pioneers as shown in the Kumlien journal, although Haviu-
hurst had no access to it. It also told of the intimate rela-
tions between Kumlien and the late R. B. Anderson, who
brought him into the University.
Mrs. Angie Kumlien Main, Fort Atkinson, granddaughter
of Kumlien, followed with a paper on the background of the
Kumlien family and the beginnings of Busseyville.
Dr. Edward P. Alexander, Superintendent of the State His-
torical Society, the main speaker, pictured Kumlien as a
much loved "Latin farmer," a term long applied to the
educated farmer by his neighbors. Kumlien became profes-
sor of botany in Albion Academy in 1867, and in 1870 became
connected with the University of Wisconsin. At the time of
his death in 1868 he was conservator of the Milwaukee Mu-
seum. Two flowers and one bird have been named for Kum-
lien by scientists.
Personal Recollections
Personal recollections of Kumlien were given by Charles
Hammerquist, 93, son of Carl Hammerquist, one of the origi-
nal Kumlien pioneer group; by I). W. North, Indian Ford,
father of Jessica and Sterling North, both of whom have
Kumlien Centennial 71
written novels laid in Koshkonong vicinity ; by Mrs. Mary
Whittet Robbins and Lawrence Whittet, both of whom at-
tended country school with the Knmlien children in the
schoolhouse still standing nearby.
N. R. Barger, president of the Knmlien Club of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin, told of how the conservation commission
and bird clubs fix the dates of Wisconsin seasonal birds from
Kumlien 's record of them.
Among those present from Madison were Mr. and Mrs.
0. A. Barton, Miss Gladis Kumlien, Dr. Edward P. Alexan-
der, Superintendent of the Historical Society, and his father,
W. S. Alexander; A. W. Quan and L. N. Barger.
From Edgerton were C. A. Hoen and Stanley Slagg.
OUR LIFETIME MEMBERS
Dr. S. A. Barrett, Berkeley, Calif.
Dr. Charles Brown, Madison.
Henry Demereau, Brandon.
Margarite Davis, Shorewood Hill.
Rev. F. S. Dayton, New London.
Dr. A. K. Fisher, U. S. N., LT Comm.
Wyman K. Flint, Boston, Mass.
Geo. R. Fox, Douogiac, Mich.
Col. Howard Greene, Christiana, Del.
Marquette Healy, Williams Bay.
Rev. J. H. Huhn, Luxemburg.
M. F. Hulburt, Reedsburg.
Dr. Chas. R. Keyes, Mt. Verton, Iowa.
Robert Kieckhafer, Brookfield.
Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, Ind.
Joseph Moody, Milwaukee.
Daniel W. Norris, Milwaukee.
B. H. Palmer, Janesville.
W. H. Pugh, Racine.
Henry Schufeldt, Milwaukee.
Dr. Anton Sohrweide, Syracuse, N. Y.
W. H. Spohn, Madison.
C. H. Thodarson, Chicago, 111.
Alex B. Uhrig, Oconomowoc.
Albert Vidas, West Allis.
Lee R. Whitney, Milwaukee.
72 WISCONSIN ARGHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
HOARD MOUNDS THREATENED
Walter Bubbert
Pour miles below Ft. Atkinson at the enlargement of the
Rock River on Lake Koshkonong is the 80-acre Hoard Hotel
and golf course with an excellent group of 35 Indian mounds.
They are on the eastern shore between the Rock River outlet
at Black Hawk's Island and Ringhams Point.
The editor and Zida Ivey, Director of the Dwight Foster
Memorial Museum at Ft. Atkinson, visited this spot at the time
of the Kumlien Centennial. The hotel had been closed for sev-
eral seasons on acount of the death of A. R. Hoard, the owner.
The estate is sympathetic and had found difficulty in disposing
of the property as a whole. For a while it was threatened
with subdivision which meant the mounds would be destroyed.
Now a voluntary community organization has been formed
with the view of acquiring the area as a City of Fort Atkinson
golf course and country club. Solicitation is being made to ac-
quire the place at the trustees price of $20,000 which includes
the hotel, five separate cottages, a 9 hole golf course and 1,000
feet of Lake Koshkonong shoreline dotted with Indian mounds.
They lie on the summits of irregular glacial moraine bluffs
which rise over 75 feet above the lake.
Nine of the group are conical mounds varying from 22 to
40 feet in diameter. One is an oval mound 35 feet in length.
Twelve of the linear mounds vary from 48 to 138 feet in length
and 12 to 24 feet in width. Eleven mounds are effigies. Sev-
eral of the bird effigies have over 90 feet of wing spread.
Several of the panther effigies exceed 130 feet in length. The
turtle effigies vary from 65 to 95 feet in length.
The Hoard group is described by A..B. Stout and the late
H. L. Skavlem in the June 1908 issue of the Wisconsin Areheol-
ogist which is devoted entirely to the Koshkonong region.
They are also described in Wisconsin Antiquities and Pre-
historic America.
An Indian trail crossed the Hoard property. This area
Purchase of Golf Course Would Preserve Mounds 73
was made famous in Wau Bun. It is adjacent to Black Hawk
Island and the Kinzie Trail.
The Hoard Mounds are a logical part of a Rock River Valley
recreation area and would fit into a proposed National Black
Hawk historic inter-state trail system.
PURCHASE OF HOARD GOLF COURSE WOULD
PRESERVE INDIAN MOUNDS
Zida C. Ivey
Director Dwight Foster Historical Museum, Ft. Atkinson
After having read the several items in this paper about the
acquiring of the Hoard property at Lake Koshkonong for a
golf course and country club, it has occurred to the writer that
one very important point of interest has been entirely over-
looked, one that should contribute unusual value to the posses-
sion of this outstandingly beautiful location.
Let us go back to a time in our history before the white
man came to Wisconsin, a time when the native race of red
men lived here and then vanished, but in passing left their
records with the earth itself as their record book and with
little but their discarded implements of stone and copper to
tell of their mode of life. There is no person of their race
left to give us their story by word of mouth. We must depend
upon the legends that have been handed down to us, many of
which tell of a race of deeply religious feeling, expressed
in poetic and picturesque language and ceremonies.
Mounds are Monuments
Chief among their ceremonial monuments left to us are the
mounds they built, scattered over a good share of the United
States. There are linear mounds, and most interesting of all the
effigy mounds in the form of animals, birds, fish, turtles, frogs
and tadpoles, and even some following- the form of human beings
themselves. It is interesting to note that these effigy mounds
74 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
Hoard Mounds
Purchase of Golf Course Would Preserve Mounds 75
are confined almost entirely to Wisconsin and its immediate
vicinity with two exceptions.: the great serpent mound in Ohio
and several bird mounds in Georgia. All around our own
Lake Koshkonong are many of these symbols of the people
who lived here in prehistoric times.
The study of the prehistoric past is a fascinating study, ad-
justable to all classes of men. One may pick up relics ; another
trace the trails the Indians used or follow the water courses
they took in their wanderings. Those of a more scientific
turn of mind can rebuild their community life from their
implements and religious symbols.
Throughout our state, state parks have been established,
many of which have been located because of their Indian
mounds. But in our corner of Wisconsin there is no such
park, even though at Koshkonong meaning "The Lake We
Live On" in Indian terminology there are some of the most
interesting effigies in the state. All along the east side of
the lake are effigies of all kinds, one of which a bird mound
in front of the Hoard hotel was marked by the late A. R.
Hoard by a bronze marker, at which time there was a fitting
program and pageant, with Halvor Skavlem, one of the state's
most renowned archeologists, as the chief speaker. This cere-
mony took place in 1921 and did much toward the preserva-
tion of other mounds along the lake shore that might other-
wise have gone under cultivation if "this ceremony had not
called the attention of less interested people to the value of
preserving these totemistic symbols. There are 36 of these
mounds in this chain at Koshkonong. What a background
for this Ft. Atkinson-owned property ! We reared our own
library without the help o,f Carnegie and why can't we have
our own park with its important pre-historic background that
will keep these mounds unspoiled, in addition to the beautiful
golf course and club house or hotel?
Plan State Parkway
The state has under way a plan to develop a parkway
along the whole length of the Kettle Moraine and will mark
on its maps points of interest slightly off the main route.
76 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
This parkway would include the Palmyra and Whitewater
area and Fort Atkinson and Koshkonong would be shown on
this map with the chain of mounds at the lake noted.
On Labor day last, the writer and a prominent areheologist
of Milwaukee, who used to be a member of the state planning
board, walked over this property and checked the mounds
against a map, and talked at length of the project of making
this Koshkonong property into a state park. This was before
it was known that already plans were under way for the pur-
chase of this same property for a golf course. The matter
had been discussed among state archeolo:ists and also among
a few members of the local Rotary club. When the news came
out that the land was being considered, the writer contacted
the archeologists who had been interested and sent copies of
the Jefferson County Union telling .of the purchase. The
consensus is that Fort Atkinson has done a smart thing in
acquiring the property. Of course, they have stressed the
point that the mounds should be preserved when the planners
map out their future course. All over the state, now that it
is too late, communities are regretting their allowance of the
destruction of valuable earthworks that with a little careful
planning could have been saved. The famous man mound at
Uaniboo, the only one of its kind was mutilated by the build-
ing of a road that could have been routed a little to one side
of its present location which would have left the mound un-
spoiled. Our own intaglio*, another "only one of its kind"
effigy, on Riverside Drive was saved by a hair's breadth, and
then its tail was lost in the shuffle. which, of course, destroyed
part of its value as an Indian religious symbol, although we are
lucky to have saved as much as we did. This is another case
where by moving a road a few feet to one side, the whole form
of the interesting water panther could have been preserved.
Interest Growing
Year by year the interest of people in these relics of the pre-
historic past has grown. Many visitors from other states
have stopped at the museum to inquire the way to the intag-
lio. At the time of the coming of the white people to settle
Fort Atkinson, there were 11 of these intaglios between here
WACKHAUK TRAIL KIR
Data From State Land
By A.O. BARTON, T.
And WALT
ORGANIZED FOR THE PURPOSE OF RECORDING AND PRtSERVINO
WISCONSIN INDIAN ANTIQUITIES
fflpMNfCOBITy-WZ
Ice Records - February 20, 1943 -
feLN, Land Office Clerk,
lUBBERT.
Purchase of Golf Course Would Preserve Mounds 77
and Waukesha, as Aaron Rankin tells us in his account of com-
ing to Wisconsin. Now Fort Atkinson has the only one left
the others having been obliterated in the cultivation of fields
and the making of roads. Now is the time to save permanent-
ly the famous chain of mounds at Lake Koshkonong before
we too join the "too late" class of some of our neighbors.
Wisconsin is widely advertised as the playground for sum-
mer tourists ; the arrowhead country to the north of us draws
a large number of tourists each summer because of its Indian
lore which is widely advertised. Our section of^ the country
is just as important and just as inviting if we make the most
of what has been left to us to attract visitors. There is really
a treasure in this property at Koshkonong, and what an inter-
esting profile the mounds give to the landscape when viewed
from the lake shore drive. We hope that the promoters of the
project won't sacrifice a single mound when they make their
future plans.
(Reprinted from Jefferson County Union, September 29, 1943)
OUR OWN INFORMATION, PLEASE
ARTIFACT AND POTSHERD:
An artifact is a product of human workmanship, especially an object
of aborigional art.
A potsherd is a piece or fragment of a broken earth pot.
BROADSIDE AND BROCHURE!
A broadside is a single large sheet of paper printed on one side.
A brochure is a printed and stitched booklet or pamphlet containing
few pages.
78 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
MONONA MOUND
This very prominent conical mound and the old Outlet Win-
nebago Indian village on a part of which it is located, is
described in the report on Lake Monona and illustrated in The
Wisconsin Archeologist, Vol. 1, No. 4, New Series, published in
December, 1922.
This old Hoyt farm property has now been platted for
residence purposes, tin- subdivision, being known as Frosts
Woods Addition, to the Village of Monona.
This last remaining undisturbed mound of a fine group
once located here was likely to be destroyed by being in the
way of a projected street of this property.
Local members of The Wisconsin Archeological Society
and other Madison and Monona Village friends are trying
to preserve this fine prehistoric Indian monument by raising
money by subscription for the purchase of a small parkway
to surround it. The sum to be raised for this purpose is $1,000.
About half of this sum has already been subscribed.
This mound is on elevated land and overlooks the Winne-
quah drive on the river bank and the old Indian trails crossing
of the Yahara river, the outlet of Lake Monona. and known in
early days as the "Grand Crossing."
The Winnebago who formerly resided on the site have a
legend that great harm will come to any person who attempts
to destroy or injure this fine monument.
Charles Kdwanl Brown
October L>4, 1943
THE "GRAND SPRING."
By Charles E. Brown
Director, Wisconsin Historical Museum
This rather famous spring is located on the old George
McF;idden farm, later the Remy farm, in the southeast quarter
of Section 27, Montrose Township, Dane County, Wisconsin.
Grand Spring 79
This place is on the old gravel road leading northward from
Bellevillee to Basco. The road follows an old Indian trail lead-
ing from the early Winnebago villages on the Sugar 1 River
at Belleville, Dayton, Attica, Albany and near Brodhead to
Lake Waubesa. The spring is abont a mile north of Belleville.
The "Grand Spring" is mentioned in "History of Madison,
Dane County and Surrounding Towns/.' published in Madison
W. J. Park & Co. 1877 (pp. 481-482). A boulder marker, bear-
ing a bronze tablet with the following legend, stands just
inside the highway fence.
Erected by a D. A. R.
to mark the place of first
Grand Spring Post Office
in town. Also the old
Indian Trail from Sugar
River to Second Lake
The spring is about 300 feet west of this marker. It is
at the base of a pasture slope and is partly curbed in with
limestone blocks laid in a XT-shaped form. It is about 30 feet
across. A low wooden-board dam with a spillway forms a
pool, at this time bearing a crop of watercress. About a
hundred feet below this is a second dam across the pool. Two
large oak trees stand on the slope just above the spring.
About 30 feet northwest of the spring is the stone-walled
cellar of the wayside tavern where George McFadden en-
tertained travelers in the early 1840 's. A spruce tree stands
near it. About 1500 feet northeast of the spring stands a
large old wooden barn where religious services and other
gatherings were held by the pioneer community.
About the "Grand Spring" family groups of Winnebago
moving over the old trail, between the Sugar River and the
Four Lakes, frequently camped. Scattered evidences of In-
dian camping and flint working occur in a nearby cultivated
field, where a few flint points and blanks have also been found.
A wild life conservation organization now owns the land
where this large spring is located. There is no more inter-
esing watering place of its nature near Madison than this
spring. Its Winnebago name is said to have been Ma-cc-ska,
meaning "white spring."
80 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY WINS
WISCONSIN CONSERVATION COMMISSION OVER
TO RETAINING NAME OF LAPHAM'S PEAK
At the September meeting of the Wisconsin Archeologi-
cal Society the members instructed its secretary to con-
tact the Conservation Commission on the matter of the
commission using the name of Government Hill rather than
retaining the name of Wisconsin's pioneer scientist, Lap-
ham's Peak, in their new Kettle Moraine folders.
The letter to the commission was as follows :
October 10, 1943.
Wisconsin Conservation Commission, Secretary,
Madison Wise.,
Dear Sir :
The intention of your commission, as typified in the
Kettle Moraine folder, to abolish the name of Laphams
Peak (at Delafield), and use the name of Government
Hill was discussed at the September 20th meeting of
the Wisconsin Archeological Society held at the Mil-
waukee Public Museum Trustees' Room.
The Wisconsin Archeological Society has instructed
me as its secretary to inform the Wisconsin Conserva-
tion Commissioners that we wish you would retain the
name of Laphams Peak.
The term Government Hill is very confusing as it
was the habit of geodetic surveyors of the U. S. Gov-
ernment to apply that name to any high hill used for
the determination of the magnitude and the figure of
the earth as distinguished from surveying of limited
areas. There are many such "government hills" in this
state and adjacent states.
A plaque has been placed on Laphams Peak more
than a score of years ago, designating it as Laphams
Peak by the Waukesha County Historical Society. This
is at the base of the Observation Tower.
Wisconsin should honor its outstanding pioneer sci-
entist, Increase A. Lapham. This father of Wisconsin
Lapham's Peak Name Retained 81
science, a versatile civil engineer, surveyed many of
our early Indian earthworks the several hundred
mounds in the Milwaukee area and Ancient Aztalan,
for the American Antiquarian Society and U. S. Smith-
sonian Institution. His early reports attracted world-
wide attention and helped focus early scientific interest
in the archeological, anthropological, ethnological and
geological uniqueness of Wisconsin.
Respectfully submitted,
WALTER BUBBERT, Sec'y,
Wisconsin Archeological Society.
The reply of our Honorary member, State Parks Director
C. L. Harrington, follows :
October 15, 1943.
Mr. Walter Bubbert, Sec'y
Wisconsin Archeological Society
Court House
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Dear Mr. Bubbert:
We have received your letter of recent date relating
to the name used to describe the hill just south of
Delafield and have taken note of the recommendation
you make.
We also have a letter from Charles E. Brown in con-
nection with this same subject, and I am sure it will be
the sentiment of the conservation department to fol-
low the recommendation made by the Archeological
Society concerning this matter. Offhand I do not know
just how the title Government Hill arose, but I think
the recommendation you have made is well taken.
I will have an opportunity to discuss this with you
one of these days, but in any further reference to that
hill we will use the name Lapham's Peak, and on new-
maps or other literature which is published by us, this
name will be used.
I want to thank you very much for bringing this
matter to our attention.
FOR THE DIRECTOR,
C. L. HARRINGTON,
Supt. of Forests & Parks.
THIS IS A DISTINCT VICTORY FOR THE WISCON-
SIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY!
82 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
MARIE C. KOHLER
Marie C. Kohler, of Kohler, Wisconsin, a life member of
The Wisconsin Archeological Society, died at the hospital at
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on Monday, October 11. She was the
sister of Walter J. Kohler, formerly governor of Wisconsin.
and had achieved a national recognition through her partici-
pation in the better homes and child welfare movements. She
was one of the state's leading club women and social workers.
In 1928 she was elected president of the Wisconsin Conference
of Social Workers. In the following year she exerted her
influence in advocating- the new Children's Code for the state.
In 1931 she was appointed to the better homes movement in
Wisconsin by Secretary of the Interior, Ray Lyman Wilbur.
Her expert knowledge of housing lead to appointment in
1937 as state chairman of Better Homes in America, Inc., a
noncommercial organization interested in promoting better
homes. The same year she was made chairmna of homemaking
for the Wisconsin Federation of Women's Clubs. Her other
social activities were numerous. She frequently spoke on
these before women's clubs.
Miss Kohler was president of the Kohler Woman's Club,
cited by the National Federation of Woman's Clubs for its
community service under her leadership; founded the Kohler
Girl Scouts, and was an organizer of the Red Cross chapter
in Sheboygan. The Waelderhaus at Kohler, typical of the
architecture of Alpine Austria, from which her father, John
Michael Koehler, came to America, and dedicated to his mem-
ory, she gave to the Kohler Girl Scouts,
Miss Kohler was a real benefactor to groups of Wisconsin
Indians who were in need of food, clothing and other assist-
ance. She sometimes visited them in their camps and homes,
To the late Chief George Monegar (Monega) of the Pitts-
field camp, she was a particularly good friend.
Her great interest in Wisconsin Indian archeology and
history encouraged her to make a collection of rare books on
American Indian life. She also possessed a valuable collection
of Wisconsin Indian beadwork, woven articles, basketry <md
Marie C. Koehler Alexander G. Guth 83
other materials collected with a future intention of placing
it in a museum to be founded at Kohler. Her life membership
in the Wisconsin Archeological Society she greatly valued.
A true friend of Wisconsin Indian history and prehistory has
gone to a well-earned rest.
Charles Edward Brown
ALEXANDER C. GUTH
Alexander C. Guth, recognized nationally for his research
on historic Wisconsin buildings, died at his Milwaukee home,
on September 22,, 1943. He was a graduate of Columbia Uni-
versity and formerly a partner in the Milwaukee architect
firm of Bueming & Guth. Architecture was both a profession
and a hobby with Mr. Guth. Because of his extensive study
of the development of Wisconsin architecture, Secretary Ickes
selected him to direct the Wisconsin Historic Buildings sur-
vey begun in 1933. Under his direction a corps of architects
measured scores of old buildings in Milwaukee and other Wis-
consin cities and made detailed drawings of the structures.
These drawings are on file in the national archives in Wash-
ington, D. C. Copies of his reports are also in the Map and
Manuscript Department of the Wisconsin Historical Society at
Madison.
His most recent activity was the assistance he gave the Mil-
waukee County Historical Society in the preservation of the
Benjamin Church homestead, the second oldest surviving
structure in Milwaukee, and which now stands in Estabrook
park and has become an historic house museum.
Mr. Guth was an honorary life member of the Wisconsin
Archeological Society, and actively interested in its work.
He was one of the founders of the Milwaukee County Histori-
cal Society and was later honored by being made a life mem-
ber. For fourteen years he served as secretary-treasurer of
the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
He was also a member of the City Club's planning com-
mittee and of other Milwaukee organizations.
84 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
STATE LAWS
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate
and assembly, do enact as follows :
Section 1. There is added to the statutes a new section to
read: Section 4454m. The reproduction or forgery of any
archeological object which derives value from its antiquity,
or the making of any object whether copied or not, with in-
tent to represent the same to be the original and genuine,
with intent to deceive or offer any such object for sale or
exchange, representing the same to be the original and
genuine, or knowingly having possession of any such repro-
duced or forged objects with intent to offer the same as orig-
inal and genuine, is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor,
AND ANY PERSON CONVICTED THEREOF SHALL BE
PUNISHED BY A FINE OF NOT LESS THAN TEN NOR
MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS OR BY IM-
PRISONMENT IN THE COUNTY JAIL FOR NOT MORE
THAN NINETY DAYS OR, BY BOTH SUCH FINE AND
IMPRISONMENT.
Section 1. There are added to the statutes three new sec-
tions to read: Section 4442m. It shall be unlawful except
as hereinafter provided to destroy, deface, mutilate, injure,
or remove any Indian burial, linear or effigy mounds, en-
closures, cemeteries, graves, plots or cornhills, garden beds,
boulder circles, pictograph rocks, caches, shell or refuse
heaps, spirit stones or manitou rocks, boulder mortars,
grindstone rocks, or other prehistoric or historic Indian re-
mains located upon the public lands, state parks, forest re-
serves, lands of state educational or other state institutions,
or upon other lands or properties belonging to the state;
provided, however, that the board, commission, or other
state officer or officers having control under the laws of the
state of the lands or properties upon which they, or any of
them, are situated may grant to state, county, municipal or
national educational institutions, or regularly organized
archeological or historical societies, permission to explore or
investigate for educational or scientific purposes.
Section 4442n. The state park board is authorized to
grant permission to remove or destroy any of the prehis-
toric or historic remains herein enumerated whenever said
board shall deem such removal or destruction necessary.
SECTION 4442o. ANY PERSON VIOLATING ANY OF
THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 4442m OF THE STA-
TUTES SHALL BE DEEMED GUILTY OF A MISDE-
MEANOR AND UPON CONVICTION THEREOF SHALL
BE SUBJECT TO A FINE OF NOT LESS THAN TEN
DOLLARS NOR MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED DOL-
LARS OR IMPRISONMENT IN THE COUNTY JAIL FOR
NOT MORE THAN NINETY DAYS OR BOTH SUCH
FINE AND IMPRISONMENT.
Sinnissippi 85
SINNISSIPPI A REVIEW
SINNISSIPPI: A Valley Under a Spell, By Dr. James M. Phalen, pub-
lished by the Association of Military Surgeons, Washington, 1942,
has 240 pages devoted to the Rock River in Illinois and Wisconsin.
The 15 chapters are evenly divided between the two states. The Wis-
consin portion deals with the upper origins of the Rock River in the
Watertown and Horicon Marsh region, gives the ethnic backgrounds
of the Germans of the 1830's who settled the region prior to that of
the Forty-eighters. Other chapters are devoted to the Madison Four
Lakes region, Rock Prairie, Troy Valley and the Lead Country.
The doctor gives a realistic account of the Indians and treats the
Black Hawk war in an understanding manner.
This is an interesting contribution from another angle and profes-
sion to Wisconsin. The reviewer didn't note as many errors in this
book as he did in Attorney Holmes' "ALLURING WISCONSIN" and
"BADGER SAINTS AND SINNERS," or the '"WISCONSIN GUIDE"
of the Federal Writers' Project. The reviewer hasn't compared it with
Derlath's Wisconsin River story. But if this review by Prof. Wm. J.
Petersen of the State Historical Society of Iowa is correct (he pointed
out nearly 50 errors in the first 191 pages) Phalan is making a useful
contribution to what some day should be a Rock River study in the
Rivers of America Series.
The reviewer noted that the author missed much of the glacial
glamor and scorched earth policy in the upper regions of the Rock
River as well as the half dozen diamonds that have been found in
southeastern Wisconsin. The author failed to mention the Crawfish
River tributary and its buried city of romance, Ancient Aztalan. He
missed the early regional characters such as the Fighting Finches,
Hoard, Kumlien and Skavlem. The author listed several pages of
reference books, but does not mention any of the source material in
the 40 volumes of the Wisconsin Archeologist.
This book should be recommended to every community library in
the Rock River valley.
It may be borrowed from the secretary for loan periods of one week.
HAVE.... YOU.... READ....
"Thure Kumlien Koshkonong Naturalist," by our honorary
member, Angie Kumlien Main, in September 1943 issue of
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY, mentions a bit
about the Indian mounds on the old Kumlien homestead.
Our Sauk City member and novelist, August Derlath, has
recently printed his eighth full length novel of his extensive
Sac Prairie Saga, ''Shadow of the Night." It depicts Wis-
consin life in the 1850 period and village problems, such as
the Frei Gemeinde.
86 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
''Early History of Milwaukee County," by Circuit Judge
Roland Steinle, a 16 page address before the County Historical
Society, devotes some paragraphs to local Indian history.
" History of the Town of Buchanan and Its Pioneers," by
Judge Thomas H. Eyan, Appleton, is a 20 page mimeographed
booklet recently put out and available for the writing. It
mentions Indian fields and camp sites.
In the bulging 60 mimeographed pages of the ILLINOIS
ARCHEOLOGIST for October, which incidentally has the
guiding hand of a trained publicist, we pick out lots of useful
facts. Various museums in the state are nicely reviewed, with
interesting added plates. Our member, E. G. Petrie, who has a
log cabin museum on Brown's Lake near Burlington, was host
to the organization's summer picnic at which our N. E. Carter
of Elkhorn, K. Whaley and Joe Ringeisen, Jr., of Milwaukee
attended. Stories also appear on grade school work on In-
dian lore, and protests against removal of the Indian from our
coins. A campaign for publishing funds netted over $275.
Not bad, eh wot?
Recently a rare copy of the Dictionary of the Sioux Langu-
age (in the "Wisconsin State Historical Museum) by Lt. Joseph
K. Hyer and Lt. Wm. A. Starring, compiled at Ft. Laramie in
1866, had in it a letter which indicated it ''was printed by
soldiers in a hand press at Camp Douglas." If this informa-
tion is correct it was printed in Utah, not Wyoming.
"A Sacred Slab of the Shawnee Prophet," by Wm. A. Gal-
loway in CRANBROOK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE NEWS
LETTER, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., September 1943, pages 6-7.
Aboriginal Research Club thru our contributor to the last
issue, Newell E. Collins, Algonac, Mich., announces several pub-
lications : "Index to Articles Pertaining to the American In-
dian and American Archeology," which have appeared in the
Have You Read 87
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, 1899-1940, 5 pages,
15c. Also, "Ancient Copper Mines of Northern Michigan,"
$1.00.
With Congress partly restoring the appropriations for
"Territorial Papers" published by the Department of State,
Washington, D. C., the following news is of interest from
Editor C. E. Carter:
"The Northwest Territory, volumes (II and III of the gen-
eral series) may be secured from the Superintendent of Docu-
ments, Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D. C., at a cost
of $2 per volume. You may be interested in knowing that
Volumes VII and VIII of the same series (The Territorial
Papers of the United States) cover Indiana Territory, of which
Wisconsin was once a part, may also be procured for $2.00
and $1.50 respectively. Volume X, the first of three large
volumes on Michigan Territory, is available at $2.00, and I
presume that the same price will hold for Volumes XI and
XII, the former is now in press and publication may be ex-
pected within a few weeks. Concerning the Wisconsin Terri-
tory : the series is so planned that various territories are
taken up in accordance with the dates of their respective
organizations. This means that several other territories will
take precedence over Wisconsin, namely Louisiana, Missouri,
Illinois, Alabama, Arkansas and Florida.
"THE STATE AND LOCAL HISTORY NEWS," pub-
lished by the American Association for State and Local
History, Washington, D. C., Sept. 1943 issue, stresses how
to publicize American History. Attitudes on preservation
of ugly trophies of war and preservation of historical ob-
jects is useful. "Broadcasting History," the story of the
story behind the headlines, by Evelyn P. Read, is a recent
26-page bulletin.
You'll want to get a copy of the leaflet issued by Dr.
Whitney R. Cross, curator of the Collection of Regional
History, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., urging people
to take a part in the gathering of the raw materials out of
which the history and folklore of New York state can be
written.
88 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
"Wild Foods," Vol. 36, No. 4, March 1943, Cornell Rural
School Leaflet, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., 32 pages,
ten cents, is an interesting account of plants, fruits, bev-
erage materials, and wild meats, with recipes.
"Notes on the Culture of the Yana," by Edw. Sapir and
Leslie Spier; "Culture Element Distributions: XXIII North-
ern and Gosiute Shoshoni," by Julian H. Steward; "Culture
Element Distributions: XXIV, Central Sierra," by B. W.
Aginsky, in the Anthropological Records Series, University
of California Press, Berkeley, Calif.
"Origin, Dispersal and Variability of the Lima Bean,
Phaseolus Lunatus," by W. W. Mackie, in March 1943, Hil-
gardia, a journal of Agricultural Science published by the
California Agricultural Experiment Station, Berkeley,
Calif., has an interesting Indian and archeological account
of the spread of this significant horticultural plant from a
common origin place in Guatamala.
"The National Park Service Program of Conservation of
Areas and Structures of National Historic Significance," by
Stauffer and Porter, is in the June 1943 issue of Mississippi
Valley Historical Review.
The University of Missouri received a $15,000 grant
from Rockefeller Foundation with the hopes of making this
the center of research in the history and culture of the
western prairie and great plains region.
"Skeletal Remains with Cultural Associations from the
Chicama, Moche, and Viru Valleys, Peru," by T. D. Stewart,
Vol. 93, No. 3610, Proceedings of the U. S. National
Museum and issued by Smithsonian Institution, Washing-
ton, D. C., p. 153-185, is a study of relationship of cranial
type to culture in Peru.
"The Shining Trail" is a novel by lola Fuller, featuring
Black Hawk.
"Alaska: Americas Contfnental Frontier Outpost," No.
13, in Smithsonian INSTITUTION WAR BACKGROUND
STUDIES. Five pages devoted to native peoples. (58 pages.)
Have You Read 89
A report issued by the National Capitol Planning Com-
mission has urged that the hugh Pentagon Building, cur-
rent architectural wonder of Washington, be used after
the war as a Federal records building.
The president of the United States through the State de-
partment has established an American Commission for the
Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments
in Europe. One of its principal functions will be to act as a
channel of communication between the Army and various
university museums and other organizations from which
information and services are desired. It will cooperate with
appropriate branches of the Army and Department of
State and will advise and work with the School of Military
Government at Charlottesville, Va. Headquarters are at
the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.
A non-governmental Committee on Protection of Cultural
Treasures in War Areas has been set up by the American
Council of Learned Societies under a Rockefeller grant of
$16,500 for expenses for one year. Its purpose is to advise
and assist government agencies and of helping to shape
public opinion as to the treatment of architectural and his-
toric monuments and the contents of archives, libraries and
other institutions in theaters of war. Headquarters are at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
90 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
CHERT FLAKINGS
The passing of Milwaukee Public Museum Director Ira Edwards
is a distinct loss to this region. He conducted the museum in a way
that showed he traveled through it with his eyes wide open and a will
to understand that which he saw. He made it more attractive and
useable. He conducted the administrative end in such a way so as to
stimulate the creative talents of its artists, scientists and workers. He
made its Minutes and Proceedings promptly available to the citizens.
His administrative ability typified the democratic proceedures of this
locality and added confidence and dignity to the Milwaukee Public
Museum.
Our W. C. McKern, a past president and curator of the Milwaukee
Public Museum Anthropology department has been appointed director
by the Board of Trustees.
Our Mayor, F. L. Nelson of Kaukauna, has been elected again
President of the Outagamie County Pioneer and Historical Society.
Our veteran lifetime member of Icelandic, Rock Island and electrical
fame, C. H. Thordarson, came out of "retirement" and now is doing
electrical experimental work at Truax Field, Madison.
We will miss the useful research done in the Madison region by
Frank M. Neu, who has moved to Route 1, Box 23-A, Redlands, Calif.
Frank was also a conservationist, naturalist and outdoor lover.
Met our honorary member, H. J. Holand of Ephriam, Door County,
at the annual meeting of the State Historical Society. He has re-
cently put out the 6th edition of his fascinating book "PENINSULA
DAYS." Was told that it has had a good sale and not a penny was
spent on advertising. But our Scandinavian scientist of Runingstone
fame the next day got some free front page publicity in Editor Evjue's
Madison Capitol Times about the fact that member Barton had loaned
his copy of "Peninsula Days" to Evjue, who hadn't returned it and
thus Holand was giving him the new revised edition. Holand also
stated that he intends to publish a book on Indian stories for children.
Also was informed by the Door County park commissioner that Door
County recently acquired its eighth park, the Cave Point area of eight
acres fronting Lake Michigan, and with many beautiful limestone
formations. This is adjacent to Indian sites mentioned in Volume 16,
Number 3, Old Series, "DOOR COUNTY REMAINS."
Attorney Robert Ferry, honorary member, conducted a very suc-
cessful June pilgrimage for the Lake Mills-Aztalan Historical Society
of the Lake Mills-Rock Lake region.
At the May 30th picnic of the above society Joseph Ringeisen, Jr.,
Milwaukee, displayed his special collection. Walter Holsten, Lake
Mills, displayed copper implements.
The Annual Indian Day, Oct. 23rd, recently authorized by Congress,
was a distinct success at Miller Hall, Milwaukee, where over 300 at-
tended and had an excellent time. This annual function should be
encouraged.
The Fraudulent Artifacts committee referred the specimens sub-
mitted by George W. H. vos Burgh, Columbus, to H. Holmes Ellis, 212
Hampton, S. E., Grand Rapids, ft, Mich., for analysis. Mr. vos Burgh
has an interesting one-room nature museum.
Chert Flakings 91
A new mural, depicting the early background of Milwaukee, Josette
Juneau and the Indians, was recently completed by Art Teacher Anita
Zentner at Milwaukee's Solomon Juneau High School.
Edward L. LaPlante of Milwaukee submitted to the Wisconsin His-
torical Society some comments on early Chippewa Indian mail carriers
to Grand Portage on Lake Superior.
The Cambridge high school museum recently has started.
Albert Skare, McFarland, was recently elected custodian of the
newly organized Koshkonong Museum and the museum will be located
on his farm.
A long informative letter from Mitchell Red Cloud, Black River
Falls, gives new information on Winnebago legends.
A newly organized group known as the Beaumont Foundation made
up of physicians on the Wisconsin area is interested in historic pre-
servation in the Prairie du Chien area made famous by Dr. Beau-
mont's experiments on human stomach.
Several crews of Indian girls have been at work this summer re-
moving ribes shrubs from the forested Menominee Reservation. One
crew of girls has been doing blister rust control work on the Bad
River Reservation in Ashland county.
Paul Scholz tells us that large blocks of acreage are being bought
and leased by the Wisconsin Conservation Commission for Public
Shooting Grounds. Members are asked to study this program with
the view of acquiring archeological and historic sites of significance
in these localities.
The study of the art, culture and life of Indians is cited as one of
the better school projects of the Paoli Grade School featured in the
Capitol Times (Madison), of Nov. 14. School Principal Ernst Lufi and
Primary Teacher Mrs. Thelma Peters utilized the services of the State
Historical Museum and the Milwaukee Public Museum. Pupils "scoured
the homes for blankets, pottery and relics, fields were searched for
arrows and other implements, left here long ago by the Foxes, Win-
nebago and Chippewas."
In the last issue I neglected to mention that Newell Collins, a re-
tired Detroit fireman archeologist, contriubted the cost of the engrav-
ing for his paper on Perforated Skulls.
Recently the secretary viewed the interested Indian Trail trees
exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
Have received several picture post cards of Indian pictographs
taken by E. H. Diesing, 5724 Coronado Ave., St. Louis, Mo. He desires
information about pictographs in Lake LaCroix region.
Fighting Florida U. S. Senator Claude Pepper is part Indian.
Back numbers of the old series of the Wisconsin Archeologist are
available at 75c each. New Series backnumbers available at 50c.
92 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 24 No. 4
Concerning post war historic restorations, we hear from the state
superintendent of Forests and Parks, and our honorary member, C. L.
Harrington:
We had hopes that something could be done to restore Perrot
Post at Perrot State Park. . . We had a similar idea as far as the
restoration of the Shot Tower at Tower Hill State Park was con-
cerned, but neither of these projects came to any fulfillment. The
time will come, however, when there will be public work programs
stablished again, and we have these particular places as possibili-
ties for historic restorations.
A letter from Dr. A. R. Kelly, Chief, Archeological Sites Division,
Branch of Historic Sites of the National Parks Service, Department of
Interior, which recently moved to Chicago due to crowded wartime
conditions in Washington, states:
"I am particularly glad that at least some initial effort is being
made to preserve the site of Aztalan. My interest in that site goes
back to the time that I was doing Cahokia archeology for the Uni-
versity of Illinois, 1930-31, when Drs. Barrett and McKern visited
my excavations to check parallel Cahokia finds with their own
results at Aztalan.
"I have never seen Aztalan and sincerely hope that opportunity
will come, now that I am in the middle west, to see this famous
site."
Honorary Member Dr. T. M. N. Lewis, formerly of Watertown,
writes:
"All of our archeological field work throughout Tennessee ceased
more than a year ago. Our laboratory research was also terminated
at the same time. (TVA) . . .
"The second largest Army Air Corps training program was in-
stituted here (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) early this year
and I was asked to take over the liaison work. I have an occa-
sional moment to devote to the preparation of manuscripts in con-
nection with my former work (TVA) and it is expected that the
current M.S. will be ready to go to press within the next few
months."
We would like the new address of:
W. K. Flint, Boston, Mass.
E. Ralph Guentzel, Boscobel.
Marquette Healy, Williams Bay.
Margarite Davis, Shorewood Hills.
Henry Schufeldt, Milwaukee.
PLEASE KEEP US INFORMED OF YOUR CHANGE OF AD-
DRESS.
NEW MEMBERS:
Lauren E. Meyers, 170 E. Lexington Blvd., Milwaukee.
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.
Mr. H. Reuping, Fond du Lac.
Rudolph Zilisch, N. Cramer St., Milwaukee.
We missed several honorary members in our last listing:
Frederic Heath, Milwaukee.
Dr. Carl E. Guthe, Ann Arbor, Mich.
SEPTEMBER MEETING held at the Milwaukee Public Museum
trustees' room was attended by over 60 persons who enjoyed the seven
reels on Mexican Archeology sent to us by the Coordinator on Inter-
American Affairs, New York City. We heartily recommend this to
other organizations for meetings. Action was taken to ask the Con-
servation Commission to retain the name of Lapham's Peak.
Chert Flakings 93
OCTOBER MEETING was attended by over 70 persons to hear Cura-
tor McKern give an illustrated lecture, using Dr. Titherington's movies
of the Hopellian Culture. Evidence of this culture has been found in
Trempeleau, Barron and Waukesha counties.
At the NOVEMBER MEETING Herbert W. Cornell spoke on "The
Story of An Ancient Egyptian Lamb Chop," which demonstrated how
modern arechological research correlated certain Biblical lore of
Egypt and Palestine. The society donated ten dollars towards the
saving of the Monona mound. A special Exchange Publications Com-
mittee will report at the December meeting.
IN THE ARMED SERVICES *****
Lt. Comm. Alton K. Fisher, Dental Clinic, Unit 2, Naval Tr. Sta.,
Newport, R. I.
Cpl. Harry Hancock, Co. H, Brks. No. 51, Normoyle Ord. Depot,
San Antonio, Texas.
T. M. N. Lewis, Liaison Officer, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Pvt. Theo. R. Merrell, 168 F. A., Bat. A, East Garrison, Camp Rob-
erts, Calif.
Robert Ritzenthaler, Milwaukee, recently honorably discharged.
Walter Pufahl, U. S. N., Lawrence College, Appleton.
S/Sgt. R. E. Neprud, 1840 Minn. Ave., S. E., Washington, D. C.
Sgt. G. C. Stowe, Co. F, 36th A. R. APO 258, Camp Campbell, Ky.
Mary Vandenburgh, A-S (WR), Billet 635, No. 81-2, Coast Guard Tr.
Sta., Palm Beach, Fla.
Robt. S. Zigman, 3031 N. Farwell Ave., Milwaukee, II.
PLEASE KEEP US INFORMED OF ADDRESS CHANGES ! ! !
Michael Besel, Univ. of Wisconsin, V-12, Madison.
Virginia Drew has left Tomah and now is Mrs. James B. Watson,
c/o Consulado Americano, San Paulos, Brazil.
A unique holiday gift is an annual membership to the Wisconsin
Archeological Society.
Having income tax worries? Don't forget to switch to a lifetime
membership in the Wisconsin Archeological Society.
THE WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
Page
Our Post War Program Pres. A, P. Kannenberg 1
Willis Tyler 1863-1943, Lake Mills-Aztalan Historical Society 3
Hoard Mounds Saved Zida C. Ivey 4
Monona Mound Saved Walter Bubbert 5
1943 Archeological Findings Charles E. Brown 7
The Impact of War On an Indian Community
Robert Ritzenthaler 10
A Fond du Lac Gravel Burial Henry J. Rueping 13
Wax Process in Pottery Restoration Robert Hall 16
Dr. Francis Huebschmann, Indian Agent Ted Miller 20
McKern Greeting Dr. J. B. Ruyle 22
Archeological Society Articles of Incorporation
and By-Laws 25
Chert FlaMngs Secretary 27
Have You Read? 34
Book Reviews . . See Cover III
r OL. 25 NO. 1 MARCH, 1944
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Incorporated 1903
For the purpose of advancing the study and preservation of
Wisconsin Indian Antiquities.
Meets every third Monday of the month at the Milwaukee Public
Museum Conference Room. (Except during July and August.)
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Arthur P. Kannenberg, Oshkosh Public Museum
VICE-PRESIDENTS
W. K. Andrew A. K. Fisher Louis Pierron
Kermit Freckman Robert B. Hartman
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
DIRECTORS
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Charles E. Brown
(Madison)
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
(Oshkosh)
Erwin G. Burg
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
(New London)
W. E. Erdman
(Horicon)
ADVISORY COUNCIL
John G. Gregory
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
(Reedsburg)
Zida C. Ivey
(Ft. Atkinson)
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
(Wild Rose)
Dr. A. L. Kastner
J. J. Knudsen
(Atlanta, Ga.)
Vetal Winn
A. E. Koerner
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
W. C. McKern
T. L. Miller
Robert Ritzenthaler
Charles G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
G. R. Zilisch
(Hustisford)
TREASURER: G. M. Thome, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee 13, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR: Walter Bubbert
Room 2, County Surveyor's Office, Court House, Milwaukee 3, Wis.
Residence: 1516 N. 37th Street, Milwaukee 8, Wis.
ASSISTANT EDITORS: G. M. Thome, W. C. McKern
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Wisconsin Archeologist is distributed io members
as part of their dues.
Life Members. $25.00 Endowment Members, $500.00
Sustaining Members. $5.00 Annual Members, $2.00
Institutional Members, $1.50 Junior Members, 50f
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Archeological
Society should be addressed to Walter Bubbert, Court House, Mil-
waukee 3. Wisconsin. Contributions to The Wisconsin Archeol-
should be addressed to him. Dues should be sent to G. M.
Theme. Treasurer, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee 13, Wisconsin.
Entered as Second Class Matter at the P. O. at Milwaukee, Wis.,
under Act of Aug. 21, 1912.
THE WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 25 No. 1
MILWAUKEE, WIS., MARCH, 1944
New Series
OUR POST WAR PROGRAM FOR WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS
A. P. Kannenberg
President, Wisconsin Archeological Society
The State Planning Board report on recreation needs for
Wisconsin has in its chapter on scientific and archeological
sites areas recommended as being suitable for state parks.
The Wisconsin Archeological Society has now requested the
State Planning Board to prepare all the details necessary so
that full working plans will be available to the next State
Legislature and Wisconsin Conservation Commission to the
end that these significant areas may be acquired for develop-
ment as state scientific monuments.
We have asked Secretary M. W. Torkelson of the State
Planning Board to prepare plans for :
1. AZTALAN, near Lake Mills, in Jefferson County, the
site of a 20-acre fortified prehistoric Indian village.
2. The Winnebago Indian Village Site, commonly known
as LASLEY POINT MOUNDS, near Winneconne in Winne-
bago County.
3. THE DEWEY MOUND GROUP, near Vernon Station in
Waukesha County.
When this significant report was compiled in co-operation
with the National Parks Service in early 1939, our organiz-
ation, as a trustee for the State of Wisconsin in archeological
matters, was not consulted. Equally significant sites were
omitted. We are therefore requesting that the State Plan-
ning Board also prepare working plans so that a proper under-
2 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
standing may be had of the following areas also suitable for
archeological parks in a post-war works program:
1. HAGNER MOUNDS in the West Bend-Barton vicinity,
Washington County.
2. KINGSLEY BEND MOUNDS east of the Wisconsin
Dells on the proposed highway 16 relocation, Columbia Coun-
ty.
3. Large FLYING BIRD MOUNDS on the hills northeast
of Prairie du Chien, Crawford County.
4. DIAMOND BLUFF MOUNDS, in Pierce County.
5. CLAM LAKE MOUNDS, Burnett County.
6. INDIAN GARDENS in Waushara County.
We agree with the statement in the 1939 report that the
selection of archeological sites for state ownership must be
carefully made. Only those significant in the state or nat-
ional scene should be considered. We regard the preserva-
tion of outstanding scientific and scenic sites as a public re-
sponsibility. The scientific values in consideration of which
parks or monuments are established should determine the kind
of development at these sites. Any tendency to overdevelop
them must be rigorously guarded against.
Because these sites represent a vital part of the state's his-
torical heritage we believe it paramount that reconstruction
jind restoration should be authentic. Buildings should be
furnished with accurate or original reproductions. Service
buildings should conform architecturally with historic struc-
tures on the silt*.
Those areas are ideal locations for museums. Such mu-
seums should contain only objects which have a direct bear-
ing on the local subject. The State should reject offers of
material not directly associated with the event, site or person
memorialized. Recreational uses must be subordinated. In-
dian mounds never should be opened except by an anthropol-
ogist or archeologist of known repute.
Tribute to Tyler
/7
to.
ll* Z.
By The Lake Mills-Aztalan
Historical Society
To say of Mr. Willis Tyler that he was a charter member of the
Lake Mills-Aztalan Historical Society does not alone envisage the
man to us. He was a charter member, but more than that, in large
measure he was the inspiration that brought the society into being.
Born and bred in the atmosphere of Aztalan, he saw the last
physical vestiges of a great Indian civilization disappear. He saw,
too, in his eighty years of life, the passing of the frontier and its
pioneer traditions, and he sensed the need of saving for posterity
something of the life and spirit of these respective cultures. Hence
his interest in the preservation of the Indian mounds and the res-
toration of the church at Aztalan as a museum to house the pre-
historic Indian implements, ornaments, and other evidences of the
material, social and religious life formerly prevailing at this site.
What more fitting, too, thought Mr. Tyler, than a church, itself
the expression of the pioneer longing for spiritual and cultural
attainment, to be the repository of the history of that pioneer
life, its public and private records, the biographical sketches of its
men and women, its objects of art and utility, its mementos and
memorials.
Mr. Tyler's devotion to the high purpose of establishing Az-
talan in its true significance rose from the qualities of his mind
and heart: his gentility, his generosity, his humor and his lasting
sense of values.
The Lake Mills-Aztalan Historical Society, and the community,
are immensely richer because he lived.
4 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
HOARD MOUNDS SAVED!
By Zida Ivey
Director Dwight Foster Historical Museum
We just got there in the nick of time ! A much larger offer
came in just after the deal was closed. If the other party had
got there first it would have been goodbye for the mounds.
Plans had already been made for cottages at this site.
The 35 mounds on the Hoard Hotel and golf course, des-
cribed in the last issue of this publication as being endangered,
will be saved and preserved. Local leaders recently organiz-
ed a corporation to take over the area. While $20,000 was the
goal needed to meet the generous offer made by the Hoard es-
tate, it seems the mounds proved such a good talking point for
the need of having a local recreation area, that $25,000 has
been subscribed. The extra $5000 will be used for expenses
and golf course maintenance the first season. Over 160 Ft.
Atkinson citizens have subscribed ; purchases range from $100
to $1000. Significant is the fact that over half of those sub-
scribing do not play golf.
Local enthusiasm and pride fostered the belief that when
Ft. Atkinson's 850 men and girls returned from service there
should be a local golf course and recreation area. The
Hoards are to be commended for their civic pride.
Thus we have saved not only a unique group of Indian
mounds, but also have properly memorialized our respect for
cur American Indians who are doing such valued work in the
present war. We are paying suitable homage to their an-
cestors who also served America in previous wars.
We have also, through our activity in preserving Wiscon-
sin's Indian background, preserved from the dangers of sim-
mer cottage blight one of the hist beauty spots in this Rock
Piver-Koshkonong section of Blackhawk land. The most
beautiful sunsets imaginable are .seen as the sun settles low in
the west over Lake Koshkonong.
Monona Mound Saved
MONONA MOUND SAVED!
It was back in May 1943 that your Secretary received a
card from our Charles Brown with the informative note: "At
the Monday night meeting of the Wisconsin Archeological So-
ciety please report that we (Col. Jackson, Professor Ray Owen.
Albert Barton and myself) are working on the matter of the
preservation of the very prominent conical Indian mound at
Frosts woods Additional Plat at the 'Grand Crossing' Indian
Yahara River ford, at the foot of Lake Monona."
Sentiment was slow to develop until Alexius Baas, columnist
for "All Around The Town" in the Madison Capital Times, in
the Sept. 21st issue, took his readers on a ramble in that vi-
cinity, pointed out the mound and explained how a road had
been platted through the mound, and that Mr. Franklin Wynn
"who is interested financially in the new plot is sympathetic,
but in order to preserve it the street must be diverted and
several adjoining lots would be sacrificed."
While $700 had been pledged up to that time, the estimated
sacrifice of land was $1000. Mr. Baas, having gotten his read-
ers that far down in his column, ended :
"I am writing this article in the hope that it will aid in
arousing enough public sentiment so that the few hundred
dollars needed to save the mound can be raised. My own
home is a mile and a half from the spot but I will gladly start
the ball rolling with a ten dollar subscription. Surely there
will be enough neighbors who would do likewise to put the
thing across."
In Mr. Baas' column of October 8th he stated that E, W.
Chapeau (Chap) had been appointed a committee 3 of one to
solicit the subscriptions and that the remaining $300 was in
sight.
In the latter part of December I received a letter from Mr.
Chapeau informing me that the following, with the exception
ol corporations and Archeological Society members, had com-
pleted the quota needed to save the Monona Mound : Theodore
6 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
Herfurth, Fred L. Holmes, Dr. H. C. Bradley, Alexius H. Baas,
August Paunack, Ted H. Field, Dr. Lindley V. Sprague, Dr.
H. H. Reese, Dr. A. W. Schorger, Walter A. Frautschi, Dr. J.
P. West, Herman L. Ekeru, Frank W. Karstens, James R. Gar-
ver, Dr. W. T. Lindsay, A. J. Fiore, Herman L. Wittwer, Mrs.
Hobart S. Johnson, John St. John, Miss Rachel M. Kelsey,
Louis Gardner, Mrs. S. L. Odegard, Mrs. H. Stanley Johnson,
Dr. R. T. Cooksey, George H. Johnson, Joe Rothschild, Oscar
Rennebohm, Dr. George Orsech, Adolph Marschall, W. L.
Woodward, Fred Buehler, and Otto Schroeder.
In the middle of January, Attorney Wynn sent a letter
which stated that the mound was saved and that the Town
Board had agreed to accept the deed for the area around the
mound.
On February 22nd a letter to the various interested lead-
ers in the campaign was sent by J. W. Jackson, Executive
Director of the Madison and Wisconsin Foundation:
Attorney Frank B. Wynne
Mr. Elmer W. Chapleau
Prof. Ray S. Owen
Mr. Chas. E. Brown
Pres. E. R. Rothman, Village of Monona
Madison, Wisconsin
Re: INDIAN MOUND
Gentlemen:
In the understanding that the requisite $1,000 for the pur-
chase of land necessary to preserve the large circular Indian
Mound overlooking the mouth of the Yahara River across Lake
Monona, has now been secured, I write to urge that before
the money is actually paid over, a definite arrangement be
made by which title to the land is to be conveyed direct to the
Village of Monona in return for which the Village will under-
take to safeguard it.
That would be in accordance with my verbal understanding
with the several members of the Monona Village Board some
months ago. Also, that was the understanding which many of
the contributors to the fund had.
If there is anything further I can do, please let me know of
it.
Sincerely yours,
THE MADISON AND WISCONSIN FOUNDATION
J. W. Jackson
Executive Director
Thus is again fulfilled one of the aims of the Wisconsin
Archeological Society: THE PRESERVATION OF WISCON-
1943 Archeological Findings
SIN'S ANTIQUITIES. And Madison has one more mound
to add to its reputation of having more Indian mounds than
any other city in the United States!
The Wisconsin Archeological Society wishes to thank every-
one for their efforts in pitching in, inspired by the challenge
of Alexius Baas:
"In my minds eye I saw them toiling patiently through the
years, whole tribes of them men, women, and children with
tlieir woven baskets and crude shovels made of wood, build-
ing their earthworks and burial places or religious tributes to
the Great Spirit. We who inherit their land and the fruits
of their labor can destroy this thing of beauty in half an hour
with a steam shovel. Shall we do it?"
1943 ARCHEOLOGICAL FINDINGS
Charles E. Brown
Director, State Historical Museum
Last summer, reported Mr. W. C. English of Wyocena, a large
pottery vessel was disinterred in grading a road leading to a tract
of land owned by Columbia County. This pot, about 18 inches
high, was crushed by the grader. Instead of saving the sherds for
possible restoration, the men present carried away such pieces as
they wanted. This locality is about two miles northeast of the
north branch of Duck Creek.
Situated about two miles east of Fox Lake, in Trenton Town-
ship, Dodge County, was the old Lemon farm upon which its own-
er, coming from Ireland via Massachusetts, settled in 1843. On
this farm was an Indian camp site from which flint arrow and
spear-points and other stone implements were collected in culti-
vating the land. Others were found near a spring on this farm.
At the southeastern corner of Fox Lake were fields where the
Winnebago Indians of a local camp gathered wild strawberries.
Splint baskets were filled at this place, the berries being of good
size and sweet.
A curved line of 10 or 12 round and effigy mounds were lo-
cated on the John Meacham farm, now the Hoffman farm, in the
rorthwest quarter of Section 21, Cadiz Township, Green County.
This place is on the east side of the East Branch of the Pecatonica
8 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
River, 2V 2 miles south of Browntown. The Meacham family set-
tled here in 1855. The mounds were all quite prominent. One
large round mound near the farmhouse was excavated years ago
and a skeleton and a pottery vessel were found at its base. The
vessel was broken in the digging. In the course of years all of
the other mounds were excavated by local people. All, or nearly
all, are now destroyed. In a woodland near the river bank was
for years the winter camp ground of the Winnebago chief, Cut
Nose, and his band. When spring came they moved away to other
localities. There was a fine maple grove near the camp ground
and here the Indians collected maple sap for sugar making. Cut
Nose and his band were well known to many white settlers of the
region from Browntown northward to Blue Mounds and beyond.
Mr. Robert P. Ferry of Lake Mills and others made a survey of
a group of mounds located on the top and slope of Nigger Hill near
Fort Atkinson. The principal earthwork in this group is a huge
Y-shaped mound. Its two arms are 300 and 424 feet in length and
the foot of the Y 150 feet long. Near the end of the 300-foot arm
are three linear earthworks 38, 60 and 75 feet long. At a distance
of 180 feet beyond the leg of the Y-shaped earthwork is a line of
two linear mounds, 69 and 87 feet long and 20 feet wide, and a
round mound 15 feet in diameter. The purpose of the large Y-
shaped mound is at present unknown. Possibly some means of
preserving these mounds may be found.
Mr. Robert M. Long of Westfield reported the existence of a
group of a dozen round, linear and effigy mounds on the Henry
Clocksin farm located in Section 8, Springfield Township, Mar-
quette County. A small square enclosure is also located here.
All are in a woodland. So far as known none of these mounds
have been explored. A pond or small lake is located about a half
mile northeast of the mounds. No opportunity to visit these
mounds has as yet presented itself.
Survey plats of three groups of mounds in Marquette County,
located near the west bank of the Fox River, southeast of En-
deavor, have been made by Mr. L. P. Jerrard of Winnetka. The
most southerly of these, a bear effigy, is located between the forks
of two roads. It is 2% miles southeast of Endeavor, in the north-
west l /4 of the southeast V* of Section 16, Moundville Township.
The second group, located a short distance to the north, consists of
two linear mounds, three round mounds and three mammal ef-
figies. The mammals are probably intended to represent two
bears and a panther. These are in the northwest % of the same
section. To the west of them is a gravel road. The third group
consists of four round mounds, two effigy mounds and another
round mound, strung out in an east and west line. One effigy is
1943 Archeological Findings
probably intended to represent a bear. These mounds are in the
southwest */4 of Section 9 and are IVz miles southeast of Endeavor.
None of these groups have been previously recorded.
On the Daischer farm, in the southeast quarter of Section 8, Troy
Township, Sauk County, on the eastern edge of Blackhawk, there
is a camp site from which many flint and heavier stone imple-
ments have been collected.
Mr. George H. Zick, who runs the general store at Denzer, has a
collection of over 300 flint, quartzite and other stone implements
collected by himself through a period of sixty years. Sandy fields
along Honey Creek and bordering the marsh lands show indica-
tions of former Indian camp sites. Reported by T. T. Brown.
A camp site is located on the Jos. Shover farm, Adrian Town-
ship, Monroe County, in the northeast % of Section 3. It is about
a large spring and was occupied by about twenty Indians up to as
late as 1890. Many flint points, a large spud and several celts have
been collected here. Reported by V. E. Motschenbacher, Sparta.
The spring awaits investigation.
In a woodland on the land of Mr. John Shannon, on the west
side of Lake Gilmore, in Oneida County, there is a group of three
Indian mounds, reported by Mrs. Isobel J. Ebert, Tomahawk. One
mound is about 35 feet long, 15 feet wide and 7 or 8 feet high.
From this mound parts of two Indian skeletons were dug by Mr.
Shannon. Pieces of charred wood were beneath the bones. Two
linear mounds 80 to 100 feet long, about 12 feet wide and much
lower in height, are near this mound and parallel to it. These
mounds will be protected until they can be properly investigated.
At the McNaughton State Camp on the east shore of McNaugh-
ton Lake, Oneida County, a camp and workshop site is located in
a sandy piece of ground in use as a garden. Here were found
flint and white quartzite chips, flakes and fragments and scattered
hearthstones. A few arrowpoints have been collected. This camp
is located 14 miles west of Rhinelander. Reported by T. T. Brown.
On the Pierce farm on the shore of Lake Poygan, about six
miles west of Winneconne, Winnebago County, there were plowed
up many Indian burials some fifty or sixty years ago. Some of the
skulls were placed on a beam in the farm granary. Some mounds
were in a woodland on the lake shore and near them was a cem-
etery where other bones were disinterred in plowing the land.
L:: ported by Robert R. Jones.
In August there was announced the purchase by the Order of
Augustinian Fathers of the farm estate of the late Col. Gustave
10 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
Pabst at Genesee Lake, Waukesha County. There is a linear
mound on this property which the Augustinians have been re-
quested to protect and preserve. Col. Pabst was a former member
of the Wisconsin Archeological Society.
Mr. Arthur Quan, Madison, reported the former existence of a
linear and a panther mound on the lake slope of Observatory Hill,
on the University of Wisconsin campus at Madison. These were
on the site of the early University orchard and were destroyed
many years ago. They formed a part of the Observatory Hill
group, two members of which, a bird and a two- tailed turtle ef-
figy, are preserved on the crest of the Hill.
Members and friends of the Wisconsin Archeological Society,
with the assistance of the Madison and Wisconsin Foundation,
saved through public subscription a fine large conical mound lo-
cated in Frosts Woods Addition at the foot of Lake Monona at
Madison. This is almost the last remaining mound of a quite
large mound group once located here. Nearby was the old Indian
trail crossing of the Yahara River known as the "Grand Crossing."
THE IMPACT OF WAR ON AN INDIAN COMMUNITY
Robert Ritzenthaler
During the summer of 1942 while engaged in an ethnological
study of the Chippewa (Ojibwa) Indians of Wisconsin, although
concerned with more remote subjects, I couldn't help but note cer-
tain effects of the current war on this community. The Lac Court
Orcilles Reservation consists of some 1700 people scattered over
45,000 acres of land in northwestern Wisconsin. They eke out a
scanty living by a combination of the old food-gathering tech-
niques : hunting, fishing, trapping, and the gathering of wild rice,
maple sugar, and berries; and wage incomes, most of which were
derived from W. P. A. and C. C. C. until July when both were
practically eliminated. While some of the old men are wont to
laugh at the folly of the white man, the majority of the people
take the war very seriously and consider it as "our war." The
men have a much more stoic attitude toward it than the women who
would occasionally "let loose" with derogatory remarks aimed at
certain foreign personalities and usually in English, for there are
no swear words in Chippewa; the worst thing you can call a per-
son is "anamush" (dog). Newspapers are a rarity, but quite a few
of the people have battery radios, and follow the news reports
vorv assiduously. The war is the number one topic of conversa-
tion, and in my contacts with them the first question put to me
w?s usually, "How is the war going?" Even some of the older
folks who couldn't read or speak a word of English and had never
The Impact of War 11
seen a map or even a picture of a tank or battleship would ask
me questions about it.
The first and major effect of the war on the Chippewa has been
an economic one. The abolition of W. P. A. and C. C. C. cut off
the main source of cash incomes, and, although some were sent to
schools on W. P. A. funds to be trained for defense jobs and later
secured such jobs, it still left quite a group to shift for themselves.
While jobs in the cities are relatively easy to secure, some of the
men were reluctant to leave their families, which are generally
large, and the increased living costs in the cities prevented taking
the family along. Others have told me they lacked the capital
for transportation and living expenses until the first pay check ar-
rived. With the rise in prices, especially of food, many expressed
trepidation as to the coming winter on the Reservation.
The rationing of tires has greatly affected the community. The
people who did have cars had what we would put under the gen-
eral category of "jalopies" with tires already in poor condition,
which meant the rapid retirement (no pun intended) of the car.
In a community as scattered and isolated as this, where a car is
more of a necessity than a luxury, it meant that the person going
to work or to the store would either have to walk or hire a car, a
rather expensive procedure. Thus it is not uncommon for a person
to walk anywhere from five to 20 miles to purchase his ordinary
staple commodities. One of my interpreters walked five miles to
the pulp camp every morning, cut pulp all day, and then walked
the five miles home. Fewer people went wild rice gathering this
year because of the lack of cars and trailers to transport them and
their equipment to the fields. The head Medicine-dance priest
lost his job transporting school children because of a lack of tires.
One of the more humorous incidents relating to the tire problem
occurred when one of the Indians, having had all four tires stolen,
took an offering of tobacco to an eld conjuror and asked him to
dream to find ou't who the culprit was. Unfortunately the con-
juror refused to 'bother the spirits with such a mundane problem
and refused the tobacco.
Socially the war has had only a minor effect upon the com-
munity. Indians fall under the Selective Service Act and well
over 100 young men have thus far either enlisted or have been
drafted. This created an abnormal community, but no great prob
lems have arisen. The young women have in some cases sought
the company of older men, and in one instance a girl of 18 mar-
ried a man 67 years old. The migration of the men into the arm-
ed forces and defense jobs has, of course, diminished the Reser-
vation population quite considerably, but this is only an ephemeral
12 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIS T Vol. 25 No. 1
situation, probably bringing with them more "white" influence as
a result of their contacts.
The present emergency has had some interesting repercussions
on the ceremonial life. One fellow had been sick last winter and
had signified his intention of going through the spring Medicine
Dance, but his draft number came up before the scheduled date of
the ceremony, so they built a special lodge and held a special
ceremony for him. The anti-climax came when the fellow was
rejected. Another important religious ceremony called the Chief
Dance, which is normally held only if a person is sick or dreams
of a coming sickness, has been held several times during the sum-
mer solely for the purpose of enlisting the guardian spirits of the
participants in the aid and protection of the boys fighting over-
seas. The third important religious ceremony, the so-called
"Dream Dance," has not been held this year because quite a few
of the important positions on the Drums are held by young men
who are now away. However, there have been several evening
gatherings of the members of just one of the three Drums which
were held in some member's home, and one such meeting that I
attended was held in honor of a member leaving for the army the
next day. It was a special "going away" ceremony in which the
head speaker asked the Drum and other manidos to take care of
the person while away. An interesting incident occurred in con-
nection with this same person. His parents were quite worried
about their son going into the army, so a few days before his in-
duction they took him to a conjuror in another community about
60 miles away. They gave him tobacco, blankets, and other gifts
in payment, and told him they wanted to find out what was going
to happen to their boy. The conjuror, one of the two left in Wis-
consin who still use the tent-shaking technique, had his runner fix
up the conjuring tent that evening, and after the ceremony of
bringing a number of the spirits in and consulting them, he told
the parents not to worry. He said that the boy would go on a
short trip and return within a few days. Two days later the boy
left for the induction center at Milwaukee, a distance of 350 miles,
was rejected, and came home the following day.
ARTICLES IN PREPARATION
CHARLES BROWN RECOGNITION ISSUE.
CAVE BURIAL NEAR GREEN BAY.
ARCHEOLOGICAL PUBLIC CORPORATIONS.
GEOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION KEY FOR ARCHEOLOGI-
CAL SPECIMANS.
MILFORD FISH TRAP DAM.
PRELIMINARY REPORT OF COMMITTEE FOR CODIFYING
TYPES OF WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES.
WINNEBAGO INDIAN HANDICRAFT COOPERATIVE.
COPPER FINDINGS IN JACKSON COUNTY.
Gravel Pit Burial 13
A FOND DU LAC GRAVEL PIT BURIAL
Henry J. Rueping
What may probably be considered one of the three out-
standing archeological finds of Fond du Lac County was un-
earthed upon two different occasions in the summer of 1942.
The site of this interesting discovery was a gravel pit, sit-
uated a short distance east of the city of Fond du Lac in Em-
pire township, northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of
Section 7.
This deposit, known as the Huber pit, is still referred to by
that name although the ownership has changed. The im-
plements and ornaments recovered accompanied a closely
grouped burial of ten adult skeletons, all in extended positions.
This pit, now nearly depleted, from which great quantities of
gravel were removed in the early growth of the city of Fond
du Lac, was originally about one-half mile long and averaged
five hundred feet in width. Its greatest elevation above the
surrounding terrain was approximately fifteen feet.
A farm house, recently razed, stood a few feet from this
burial site, so it may be assumed that this spot on the pit was
the highest point in primitive days. For that reason it was
naturally selected as most suitable for interment purposes.
As far as is known burials were uncovered in this area three
times before. A description of one instance appeared in a
local paper forty-five years ago. A number of skeletons of
unusual stature accompanied by several flint spears were ex-
humed at that time. A Fond du Lac collector, Mr. Gifford
Breitenstein, has several specimens that were found upon an-
other occasion. The Wisconsin Archeologist, Volume XIV,
No. 1, described the unearthing of a single skeleton in a flexed
position in July, 1908. A camp site, three-quarters of a mile
to the southeast situated partly on a cultivated field, has yield-
ed a quantity of artifacts over a period of years. This site is
also in Empire township, northwest quarter of northeast quar-
ter of Section 18.
The 1942 discoveries were made by workmen engaged in
14 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
removing gravel. In both instances sudden cave-ins revealed
the interments and unfortunately destroyed the opportunity
to note the relation of the mortuary objects to the skeletons.
Although the collection fell into the hands of four different
finders, it eventually was restored as a unit and will be pre-
served intact by the author, whose intention is finally to pre-
sent it to one of Wisconsin's larger public institutions.
A widely diversified list of artifacts was recovered. Two
drills, three inches long, made of blue hornstone, have small
side lugs or prongs extending horizontally. These specimens
are nicely chipped. A third drill of inferior yellowish chert
is also three inches long, but is stemmed. Its crude chipping
was due to the nature of the material. Two copper celts or
wedges, one and one-eighth by three inches and one and one-
half by three and seven-eighths inches respectively, are of a
common type. Both have curved cutting edges. Eighteen
flat copper fragments of problematical use, one-fourth to three-
eighths of an inch wide and from three-eighths to one and one-
fourth inches long, were found while sifting. These pieces.
extremely corroded, were possibly all parts of one or more
bracelets, as the longer ones are slightly curved. Ten copper
awls, squared in section and pointed at both ends, range in
length from one and one-eighth to ten and one-eighth inches.
One curious cylindrical bone bead, five-sixteenths by one
and one-fourth inches, is perforated at both ends, the holes
entering at the centers and extending at an angle of forty-five
degrees through the sides. The two points of emergence are
about ninety degrees from each other. A pronounced groove
connects these side openings, thus forming a spiral.
Two strings of copper beads were found. The longest
strand numbers two hundred ninety-one and is eighty-four
and one-fourth inc'.ies long. The individual beads range in
diameter from one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch and from
one-eighth to one and three-eighths inches in length. The
short strand numbers forty-six and is fifteen and one-fourth
inches long. These beads raiifie from five-sixteenths to seven-
sixteenths of an inch in diameter and from three-sixteenths
Gravel Pit Burial IS
to five-eighths of an inch in length. The walls of these beads
are thicker than those of the longer strand. A few beads, not
included in the foregoing figures, were so completely corroded
that they crumbled when touched. It is believed that the
long strand is the greatest numerically and the longest ever
found in Wisconsin. Although the surrounding soil was sift-
ed, it is entirely probable that some beads were missed and
hauled away in the gravel subsequently removed. All the
specimens were made by the usual method of bending a flat
strip of the metal around a core and overlapping the edges.
Two ceremonial knives or blades, three by twelve and three-
eighths inches, and three and three-eighths by thirteen and
one-half inches, respectively, are made of beautifully chipped
salmon-tinted chert and were, no doubt, quarried from the
same source. They were both similar in outline to the blade
oi' a Roman broad sword.
Two birdstones were found. One of green banded slate is
of the bar type. Both ends were broken off and indicate evi-
dence of having been slightly smoothed. Its cross section re-
sembles 'a letter "D." This specimen is nine-sixteenths of an
inch wide, five-eighths of an inch wide, and three and three-
eighths inches long. It is not perforated.
The second birdstone is of the so-called pop-eyed type with
disk-like appendages. It is also of green banded slate but
is lighter in color and the stripes are more pronounced than
those of the first mentioned. It is six and three-eighths inch-
es long and one and eleven-sixteenths inches high.
The single remaining eye is three-fourths of an inch in di-
ameter. The right one had been broken off and an unusual
attempt to attach it to the head again has been made. Sev-
eral loads of the surrounding soil and gravel were sifted but
the missing disk was not found. In the center of the fracture
a hole three-eighths of an inch in diameter 011 the outside had
been drilled. This hole extended downward entirely through
the head and emerged at a point just below the other eye, the
diameter at its emergence being only one-eighth of an inch.
Apparently a hole had been drilled through the broken eye in
16 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
alignment with the one in the head, the purpose being to fit a
wooden peg or pin to the two in an effort to bind them to-
gether. The obtuse angle of the hole made a tight secure fit
between the pin and stone impossible and it is quite likely that
the eye was lost by its aboriginal owner before interment.
Another unusual feature of this specimen is that it has no
base perforations. Ordinarily this absence would indicate
that the birdstone was unfinished, but the great amount of
work done in repairing the fracture in addition to the fact
that the ceremonial was buried with its owner all without be-
ing drilled, makes it appear certain that the omission was in-
tentional and that a different method of mounting this speci-
men was employed.
A refuse pit nearby yielded a number of potsherds including
a portion of a rim. A few shell-tempered sherds were found
in the siftings but evidently were not connected with the bur-
ials. The jawbone of a deer and three beaver teeth were also
recovered from this site.
WAX AND FIBER PROCESS OF POTTERY RESTORATION
AT THE NEVILLE PUBLIC MUSEUM
By Robert Hall*
This method of pottery restoration was developed at the
Neville Public Museum of Green Bay, Wisconsin, not as a
method for completely reconstructing vessels from a meager
number of potsherds, nor for doing simple mending on damag-
ed pottery, but as a simple and practical way to restore com-
plete or nearly complete vessels of such size and in such a
number of pieces that assembly with a ghu* would entail need-
less intricacies.
The advantages of this method are very evident when one
has thoroughly fainiliari/ed liiiu.-elf with the operating tech-
nique: the fiber-wax lining which is given to the vessel will
*This paper was presented on January 5, 1944, before the Green
Bay Natural Science Club of the Neville Public Museum, of which
the writer is a member.
Pottery Restoration 17
last as long as the sherds because of the non-deteriorative
qualities of the material; the time required for the hardening
of the few drops of wax necessary to establish a connection
between potsherds is small when compared to the long time
element involved in the setting of any glue; and any misfit is
easily remedied by a slight pressure in the right direction,
since the fiber and wax backing entertains a limited "play."
During the firing of pottery certain stresses and strains are
set up in the vessel that are not relieved until the vessel is
broken, and when this release of stress takes place, the former
curve and general profile are altered to a very slight degree.
Thus, it is true that no matter how accurately sherds may be
assembled there is bound to be some slight mal-allignment
that would remain unnoticed until the large sections are fitted
together. Here the wax construction demonstrates its util-
ity by furnishing the necessary flexibility between joints to
permit the pieces to be eased together.
Working Technique
The wax used is preferably beeswax, though paraffin will
provide suitable results. Caution must be taken in melting
the wax to avoid burning and discoloring which will come
about if the wax is not heated in a double boiler or water bath.
A small amount of powdered rosin will favorably "temper"
the wax and make a stronger final structure. For application
use an artist's long-handled brush, for as the assembling pro-
gresses many points become otherwise inaccessable.
Besides the wax the only other materials needed for a
restoration are: cotton batting, white sheet wadding (obtain-
able at drygoods stores in large sheets), a supply of bamboo
sticks, and in cases paper-mache in the ready-to-mix pulveriz-
ed form.
To prevent flaking or crumbling, the sherds should be sized,
unless the condition of the pottery should render it unneces-
sary. However, it is usually the case that if the backs of the
sherds are impregnated with a sizing solution and not thor-
oughlv dried, the adhesiveness of the wax is greatly impaired,
18 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
therefore making it imperative that the sherds be completely
dry.
Experimenting on odd pieces of pottery will show what de-
gree of dilution is required to prevent a glossy finish and yet
provide strength. If a nitrocellulose glue is chosen use ace-
tone for the solvent, and alcohol for white shellac. Both of
these are in common usage as sizing agents.
For finding joints between pieces no better method can be
suggested than the trial and error system with careful regard
for color, design, curve, texture, and thickness. Often it is
necessary to remove particles of dirt and small imbedded hair-
roots with a stiff brushing.
When a joint has been found carefully adjust the two
sherds until the proper fit is sensed by the smoothness of the
curve and the "feel" of the two pieces. Follow this by plac-
ing a short bamboo splinter across the joint, securing it with a
few drops of the melted wax applied with the brush. This
cools almost immediately and the two sherds can be handled
for further assembly purposes. Toothpick proportions are
usually the rule for smaller sherds and larger sticks for cor-
respondingly larger sherds.
Because of the comparative speed in the hardening of the
wax and its adhesive quality there is no reason to prop the
sherds up on lumps of clay or a similar resort for setting as
would be the case with a glue. This in itself is a great boon,
because there is not the distortion effected in the transferring
of freshly glued pieces from the operator's hands to suoh props.
The joining of sherds with splinters and wax is repeated
until the vessel is contained in several large sections. At this
stage the bulkiness of the pottery calls for the added strength
of the fiber. If the bamboo splinters are fairly flush with the
backs of the sherds the wax and fiber are applied right over
them. If the splinters would appear awkward thus disposed,
the backing can be applied in between and the sticks removed
later.
In cither event the procedure is this: paint the backs of thv.
Pottery Restoration 19
sherds in question with melted wax, and anchor the strips of
sheet wadding in place with brushfuls of wax; with the strips
of fiber anchored, add wax by the brushfuls until it is a thor-
oughly saturated, fibrous mass.
As the sections of pottery become established with the fiber
and wax backing and arranged for the final assembly they can
be braced with temporary spanners of bamboo anchored in
wax with cotton batting fillets for reinforcement. Whenever
a mass of wax or a fillet is needed it can be built up with wax-
saturated cotton batting or sheet wadding, where wax alone
would be insufficient.
The finished lining is either left its natural color or given a
coat of tinted wax. If the latter is the wish, oil colors of the
right pigment are dissolved in carbon tetrachlorid^ and mixed
with the melted wax. Caution: too much oil paint and un-
evaporated carbon tetrachloride solvent will make the wax
soft and sticky.
If the vessel is found to be incomplete, the remaining spaces
are filled in with paper-mache and stippled with a stiff brush.
The surface can then be painted a harmonious shade with
water colors or stain.
The finished product of this method of pottery restoration
is a vessel with a fiber and wax foundation combining light-
ness and strength and a very feasible working scheme.
The writer is gratefully indebted to Mr. Earl G. Wright,
director of the museum and deviser of the plan, for the priv-
ilege of its presentation.
20 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
DR. FRANCIS HUEBSCHMANN, INDIAN AGENT
Ted Mueller
Supervisor, Milwaukee County Historical Museum
When President Pierce appointed Dr. Huebschmann as super-
intendent of Indian affairs of the northern district in 1853 for his
faithful and valuable service to the cause of the Democratic Party
he broke the usual tradition which made this desirable office avail-
able only to native Americans.
Dr. Francis Huebschmann came to this country only ten years
previous to his appointment. In this comparatively short space of
time he had served as a trusted representative for his party in var-
ious local and state offices and had become a power in politics to
be reckoned with.
It is, moreover, significant that the office of Superintendent of
Indian Affairs had been sadly misused during the previous admin-
istrations. It was looked upon by the native administrators as a
choice source of revenue. In the course of time, however, the ex-
penditures were ruthlessly juggled for the benefit of the adminis-
trators while the Indians, ignorant of the bureaucratic procedure,
paid the bill. On many occasions this was the reason for the
periodical war-whoops and riots staged by the Indians during the
early days.
Indian Agent 21
The American Indian agent considered the Indian as an unneces-
sary evil, a scourge of the nation, lower in their social standing
than the lowly negro slaves of the South. To them the only good
Indian was a dead Indian.
With the appointment of Dr. Huebschmann an 'entirely new and
strange procedure in dealing with the Indians was inaugurated.
This was due to the background training which Dr. Huebschmann
had received as a youth, and while a student at the university in
Europe. He not only respected the Indians for their courage in
defending their natural and legal rights, but had developed a ro-
mantic approach towards his new clients under the influence of.
what he read of the heroic and adventurous life of the Red man
in the old classics of Karl May and Payeken, which were the in-
tensely popular authors of American romances for the youth of
Europe. Nourished by these romantic concepts about the life of
the Indians he looked upon them, not as enemies, but as human
beings who at least should have the same civil rights as the White
Man who had invaded and expropriated their country.
In time to come, however, he was to experience many dis-
appointments which did not shake his faith in the Indians, but in
the integrities of his own political friends.
Since Dr. Huebschmann did not follow the usual procedure of
his predecessors his administ.r ition was a rather eventful period
in the history of Indian Affairs. It was not favorable to the ad-
ministration, but for the benefit of his Indian clients.
With the benevolent aid of his friend and counselor, Solomon
Juneau, he straightened out many discrepancies. It was Dr.
Huebschmann who was at the deathbed of Solomon Juneau at
Theresa, as his trusted physician, in 1856.
On various occasions while traveling with his assistant, Voitja
Naprstek, a Bohemian linguist, he was forced to discharge some
of his agents because of their greediness and dishonesty in the
conduct of their affairs. In 1856 he distributed to the Indians,
goods valued at over $40,000, the largest amount ever paid up to
that time, including a large shipment of blankets, barrels of flour,
and other necessities provided by the Federal Government.
Yet, at the end of his term he was only too glad it was over.
The office involved too many problems and annoying situations
for a temperamental and explosive character such as Dr. Huebsch-
mann to endure for any length of time. His sense of justice and
integrity would not permit him to carry on everlasting controver-
sies with the political cliques in power. Happy to be free once
more he returned to his profession as physician and surgeon, only
22 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
to volunteer a few years later as a medical officer, later staff sur-
geon of the Northern Army in the Civil War.
The romantic idealism which Dr. Huebschmann had acquired re-
garding the American Indians in his youth, and as a student, never
left him in spite of all his sad experiences.
McKERN GREETING
By Dr. John B. Ruyle
Reprint from: Journal, Illinois State Archaeological Society, of
January, 1944.
(EDITOR'S APOLOGY: This style of writing is not considered
properly dignified for an old established publication like the WIS-
CONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST. It is reprinted from the new and
booming Journal of the Illinois State Archaeological Society. But
it is written by one of our Illinois members.)
One of the finest letters these old eyes of mine have ever scan-
ned was the one I received ten days ago. As letters go, it was
brief and to the point. It stated the writer was no longer the Cur-
ator of Anthropology at the Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwau-
kee, Wis., but that he had been elevated to the position of Director
of the Museum. In short, the letter advised me that Dr. W. C.
McKern, the iconoclast of archaeology, had received a promotion
he should have had a long time ago.
One cold wintry day several years ago, I packed my suitcase,
dutifully kissed the wife and was begone for the Mid-winter meet-
ing of the Chicago Dental Society. There I was to spend several
days absorbing knowledge through lectures and clinics. But I
had reckoned without the sinister influence of one of my best
friends, the one and only Byron Knoblock. At that time, Knobby
was living in LaGrange, a suburb of Chicago. At his request, I
spent the night at his home.
All through the night, Knobby and I spoke of many things,
ranging from cabbages to kings, or possibly from kings to cab-
bages. Knoblock reminisced of his early days of collecting when
there was a Bannerstone in every farmhouse. He exhibited every
artifact with the same pride that a doting father shows off his
first born.
At the tender hour of 3 a. m. the next morning, we decided the
logical thing to do that day was to assemble a few pipes, Banner-
stones, et cetera, and drive up to the Milwaukee Public Museum
and consult with one Dr. W. C. McKern.
Bright .and early, we were off Mr. Knoblock, Mrs. Knoblock and
McKern Greeting 23
myself. Knobby pointed the nose of the big Oldsmobile north-
ward and in due course of time, we arrived at that huge edifice
called "The Milwaukee Public Museum". After the social amen-
ties had been disposed of, Knobby and Dr. McKern indulged in an
animated discussion of a pipe. I, being a timid soul, retired to
the side lines and watched the game from that viewpoint. I lis-
tened attentively for any gems of wisdom that would fall from
their lips.
This was my first introduction to Dr. W. C. McKern, one of the
most outstanding archaeologists in the West. The writer knows of
no one whom he regards with more affection for himself or for his
scientific attainments. He and I have not always seen eye to eye
on every subject, but I have the greatest respect for his opinion.
When we go down life's pathway it is not what one thinks of
himself which counts it is rather how he is regarded by his co-
workers and by his fellowmen. I recall an August day when I sat
across the desk from Dr. T. M. N. Lewis, on the campus of the
University of Tennessee and heard some mighty fine things about
this prince of a Wisconsin Archaeologist.
A biography of Dr. W. C. McKern follows:
BIOGRAPHY OF W. C. McKERN
W. C. McKern was born in jr small town in the State of Wash-
ington on July 6, 1892. The -irst twenty years of his life were
spent in moving about from place to place, in Washington, Cal-
ifornia and Arizona, trying to find some spot in which to take root,
never remaining at one place for more than six years. In spite of
this, he managed to get enough education to matriculate in the
University of California in 1913, where, in spite of all advice to
the contrary, he majored in anthropology. Obtaining his B. A.
degree in 1917, he accepted a field fellowship from the Univer-
sity which permitted him to take up the study of the customs of
the Pat win Indians of northern California.
Then came the war. Mac enlisted in the 62nd Infantry. It did
not do his country much good, however, as he was not sent over^
seas until the trouble was practically over; he landed in France
two days before the Armistice was signed. He was discharged as
a Sergeant.
After the war Mac went back to the Pat win again. Then some-
one told him that two could live more cheaply than one, and he
married Clare Embree. After exposing the fallacy of that old
saw, he went to the University of Washington as Assistant In-
structor in Anthropology.
In 1920 he accepted a position as Research Assistant on the staff
24 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
of the Bishop Museum of Honolulu. The job took the McKerns to
the South Seas where a year was spent in ethnological and archae-
ological research in the Tongan Archipelago, interspersed by brief
visits to Samoa. Mac then returned to Honolulu as Research As-
sociate in Ethnology.
In 1923 he unexpectedly showed up in the southwest at the Mesa
Verde National Park engaged in archaeological work as an em-
ployee of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Later he made an
extensive study of petroglyphs in and about the Shavano Valley
of Colorado.
While they developed during this time a great dislike for cold
weather, the McKerns moved to Milwaukee on the last day of
1924, where Mac held successively the positions of Assistant Cur-
ator, Associate Curator and Curator of Anthropology. In his new
field he first became greatly interested in Wisconsin archaeology,
devoting years of his life to the rather hopeless pursuit of getting
information on the effigy mounds. His interest soon branched out
to neighboring states and it was not long before he was investigat-
ing archaeological problems wherever he was given opportunity
throughout the eastern half of this country. He became par-
ticularly interested in field and laboratory methods, and has re-
ceived many an unkind slap for his pains.
In October, 1943, the powers that be decided to terminate his
two active interests in ethnology and archaeology, so he was
moved up the hall from the office of the Curator of Anthropology
to that of the Director of the Milwaukee Public Museum, where
the one-time influential scientist now holds forth as a glorified
office boy.
McKern is a member of the Wisconsin Archaeological Society,
American Anthropological Association, Society for American Ar-
chaeology, and the American Association for the Advancement of
Science. He was President of the American Anthropological As-
sociation, Central Section, in 1933, and of the Society for American
Archaeology in 1940. From 1935 through 1938 he was Editor of
American Antiquity. He is the author of various articles and
technical reports on the Patwin Indians, the Polynesians of Tonga,
the Winnebago Indians, and the Archaeology of Wisconsin and
the Northern Mississippi Valley.
Articles of Incorporation 25
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION AND BY-LAWS OF THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Wisconsin Archeologist, Vol. 13, No. 2, P. 99. 1914
Articles of Incorporation
Know all men by These Presents, that Henry A. Crosby, Charles
E. Brown, Lee R. Whitney, and George A. West, of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, all adult persons and residents of this state, do hereby
make, sign and acknowledge, the written Articles of Incorporation,
as follows, that is to say;
First
They declare that they associate for the purpose of forming a
corporation under Chapter 86 of the Revised Statutes of Wiscon-
sin, and acts amendatory thereof. The business and purposes of
said corporation shall be the promotion of Wisconsin archeologi-
cal research; the preservation of Wisconsin antiquities the acquir-
ing of archeological collections; the publication of papers and
notes of scientific and general interest; and the doing of all things
incident to the carrying on of its business.
Second
The name of such corporation shall be The Wisconsin Archeo-
logical Society and its location ind principal office shall be at the
City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Third
This corporation is organized without capital stock. No div-
idends will be declared and members will not derive pecuniary
benefit from the organization.
Fourth
The general officers of said corporation shall be a President, five
Vice-Presidents, two Directors, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. A
board of ten Directors, consisting of the foregoing officers, shall
constitute the Executive Board. These officers and directors shall
be elected by ballot at each regular annual meeting of the Society,
each shall hold his office for one year and -until his. successor be
elected and qualified.
Fifth
The principal duties of the President of the corporation shall be
to preside at all meetings of the Stockholders and of the Board of
Directors and to perform such other duties as shall be prescribed
by the By-laws.
The duties of the Vice-Presidents, or any one of them shall be
to perform the duties prescribed herein or by the By-laws, in the
absence of the President or in case of his inability to act.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep the minutes of all
meetings of the Stockholders and Board of Directors; to attend to
26 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
all of the correspondence of the Society, and to perform such other
duties as may be prescribed in the By-laws.
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to collect and take charge
of the securities of the corporation; to keep an account thereof
and to render reports from time to time to the Board of Directors
of his doings with such moneys and securities, and of the physical
condition of the Company, and to perform such other duties as
may be prescribed in the By-laws.
Any three of the members of said Executive Board shall con-
stitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Sixth
The cost of membership in the Society shall be as follows;
Annual members, $2.00.
Sustaining members, $5.00.
Life members, $25.00.
All applications, however, are subject to the approval of the
Executive Board, which Board shall also have power to discharge
or expel any member for non-payment of dues or for conduct
deemed by them to be unworthy of a member.
Persons not residents of the state of Wisconsin, may be elected
as honorary or corresponding members and may be exempted from
the payment of dues on vote of the Executive Board.
Seventh
The date of the first meeting of this corporation shall be April
3rd, 1903. Annual meetings thereafter shall be held on the third
Monday of March in each year, at 8 o'clock p. m.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties of these presents have
hereunto set their hands and seals this 28th day of February A. D.
1903.
Henry A. Crosby (seal)
Charles E. Brown (seal)
Lee R. Whitney (seal)
George A. West (seal)
In presence of
G. E. Henrick,
Arthur Wenz.
BY-LAWS
Section 1
Special meetings of the Society may be held at the call of the
President, or may be called by the Secretary at the written request
of five members.
Section 2
Regular meetings of the Society shall be held on the third Mon-
day of each month, excepting July, August, and September.
Section 3
At all meetings of the Society four members shall constitute a
quorum.
Chert Flakings 27
Section 4
The Treasurer shall disburse moneys only on order of the Ex-
ecutive Board.
Section 5
The Executive Board shall recommend plans for promoting the
objects of the Society; shall digest and prepare business; shall
authorize the disbursement of unappropriated money in the treas-
ury for the payment of current expenses, and shall execute such
other duties as may be committed to them by the Society. The
Executive Board shall appoint permanent committees, viz; Sur-
vey, Research and Record, Public Collections, Membership, and
Publicity, and such other committees as may be necessary.
Section 6
At all meetings of the Society, the following shall be the order
of business.
1. Call to order.
2. Reading of minutes of previous meeting 1
3. Unfinished business.
4. Reports of officers.
5. Reports of committees.
6. Election of officers.
1. New business.
8. Programme.
9. Adjournment.
Section 7
These By-laws may be amended by a majority of the members
present at any regular meeting of the Society, notice of such
amendment having been given at the previous regular meeting.
Section 8
Proxies shall not be voted at any regular, special, or annual
meeting of the Society.
CHERT FLAKINGS
DECEMBER MEETING An informal discussion by all mem-
bers resulted in Charles Schoewe explaining his visit to the Mil-
ford fish-trap dam; Gus Thorne asked for information on Indian
Treaties; Towne Miller discussed fluted axes (our quiet members
want to discuss that later) and Herb Cornell explained in connec-
tion with his wedding anniversary trip to Mammouth Cave the re-
cently discoveied Indian mummy. Twenty-five attended. Six
new members.
The JANUARY MEETING was featured by Public Museum As-
sociate Curator W. D. Kline's illustrated lecture on India. Walter
Bubbert lead an informal discussion on the U. S. Land Office land
description methods as a means of simplifying mound locations.
28 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
A copy of the Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory bulletin 229,
from the state Department of Agriculture (Madison), explaining
land description methods, was given free to the 40 citizens attend-
ing. The advisory board granted approval of the Illinois Archaeo-
logical Society request that the secretary contribute a quarterly
column to their publication on Wisconsin trends in Archeology.
The secretary reported that the new state parks book, which every
member should get from the State Conservation Commission,
went to press too late to make the correction about the erroneous
use of the name Government Hill the name rather than Laphams
Peak. The president was authorized to send a letter of thanks to
the press for accurate publicity. Charles Koubeck showed some
out of state specimens. Three new members.
The FEBRUARY MEETING was attended by 60 persons at the
new Conference Room in the Public Library section on the sec-
ond floor. The old Trustees Room is being remodeled for the
Library. The Museum will use the new setup also for Trustees
meetings. Our members Nelson and Ritzenthaler of the Public
Museum staff, jointly participated in discussing their new KEY
for identifying the geological aspects of archeological specimens.
The six page key will again be discussed at a later meeting and
then published in our issue. MEMBERS DESIRING TO TRY
THIS KEY ARE ASKED TO WRITE FOR A COPY.
The advisory council received a statement from our veteran
printer, A. E. Koerner of South Milwaukee that labor shortage plus
excessive defense work prevented him from carrying out our
printing task and that he desired to be relieved of the interesting
work. The council passed a resolution thanking him for his cour-
teous, efficient and excellent work. A motion was made and pass-
ed that we accept the low bid of two dollars a printed page from
THE LAKE MILLS LEADER, this to include shipping charges.
Zida Ivey sent a letter reporting that $20,000 had been pledged to
acquire the Hoard Hotel by Ft. Atkinson citizens and that the 35
mounds would be saved. A letter from Attorney F. B. Wynne re-
ported that $1000 had been pledged to acquire the lots adjacent the
Monona mound and that the town board would accept the deed
for the mound as a park. Motion was made and accepted to par-
ticipate in the annual Wisconsin Academy of Arts, Sciences and
Letters to be held in April or May at Madison. MEMBERS ARE
ASKED TO SUBMIT PAPERS. Secretary was authorized to ask
the state planning board to prepare for legislative action a post
war state archeological parks program. Pres. Kannenberg report-
ed that the governor didn't include the archeological printmg ap-
propriation in his special legislative call. Our president also re-
ported that his Winnebago County recently purchased 17 acres for
Chert Flakings 29
a county park on Lake Winneconne adjacent to Lasley Point Indian
mounds owned by our Dr. Ebert. The chairman appointed a
nomination committee consisting of Towne Miller, Schoewe and
Winn. Eight new members.
NEW MEMBERS
Life
Herbert V. Kohler, Kohler.
From Annual to Life
Lt. Comm. A. K. Fisher, U. S. N., Dental Clinic Unit 2, New
port, R. I.
Junior
Robert Linck, E. Mission Rd., Green Bay.
Annual
Wm. Aberg, 16 N. Carroll, Madison.
Frank Achen, Briar Hill, Madison.
Philo Buck, 1832 Summit Ave Madison.
Willis Erlandson, Lake Mills.
Louis Maier, 2105 N. Summit Ave., Milwaukee.
Cal Peters, Prairie du Chien.
Clyde R. Pyne, 1109 Sherman Ave., Madison.
Chas. B. Rogers, 95 Main St., Ft. Atkinson.
Harry L. Spooner, 812 BigeloW, Peoria, 111.
Anita Zentner, 1329 E. Morgan Ave., Milwaukee.
Rudolf Zilisch, 2637 N. Cramer St., Milwaukee.
Institutional Members
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.
Beloit College Library.
Milwaukee State Teachers College Library.
Sauk County Historical Society.
AMONG OUR NEW MEMBERS MR. H. V. KOHLER is pres-
ident of Kohler of Kohler, and continues the Kohler family tra-
dition in Science and Culture. For more see Who's Who. . . . LT.
COMMANDER FISHER is one of our vice presidents who used to
be in his dental office in the Plankinton Arcade, Milwaukee. . . .
BOB LINCK of Green Bay teams up with Bob Hall who has done
much to keep scientific interest keen among youth in the Green
Bay area. . . . ATTORNEY ABERG is chairman of the Wisconsin
Conservation Commission and knows what's what on outdoor
policies. . . . FRANK ACHEN has a collection. . . . Professor PHILO
BUCK, head of the University of Wisconsin Comparative Literature
Department has been around the world quite a bit, having taught
at University of Bombay and knows Ghandi quite well. He has
quite a contagious radio voice over WHA which can be heard
Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 A. M. discussing "Literature of Our
Contemporary Allies." And for more we suggest you read his 25
30 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
lines in Who's Who. . . . WILLIS ERLANDSON as editor of the
Lake Mills Leader runs quite a newsy weekly which is always
booming Aztalan. He is quiet but get him talking about the evi-
dence of an Indian campsite he found while building his new home
on one of the highest hills in cheerful Lake Mills. . . . LOUIS
MAIER is an old crony of Charles Brown and has his own line of
Paul Bunyon yarns when it comes to his annual reunion of Taylor
County citizens. Likes Woodcraft. . . . CAL PETERS, curator of
the Prairie du Chien Museum no, it's Prairie des Chiens Museum,
is also curator of the Beaumont Foundation. Cal is a native of
Luxemburg (Wis.) and has taken to this old French town like a
duck to water. Cal did a fine lob with the murals and dioramas. . .
MR. PYNE is a U. S. Forest Products Laboratorv worker who in
his spare time does a fine job at cartooning and hopes to put out
a cartoon series on Wisconsin. . . . CHARLES ROGERS, a former
judge at Ft. Atkinson is the leader when it comes to helping Zida
Ivev with her Ft. Atkinson museum and history tasks. . . . HARRY
SPOONER is the kind of an archeologist that puts on a good talk
at Illinois when it comes to archeological research. . . . ANITA
ZENTNER has a background in handicraft and art. . . . RUDOLF
ZILISCH is a son of our Hustisford archeologist.
There are many names this time on our "GETTERS" list. Zida
Ivey, Albert Barton, Art Quan, Charles Brown and W. K. Andrews
are credited with two or more new members. One each was sent
in by Joe Ringeisen, Jr., and Robert Hall.
PRESIDENT KANNENBERG, a veteran member of the Win-
nebago County Board of Supervisors informs us that their board
roccntr" purchased the first county park consisting of 17 acres ad-
j'rin'ng Lasleys Point on Lake Winneconne. Our Dr. Ebert owns
the adjoining farm with the old Winnebago village site recom-
mended by the National Parks service as a site suitable for a
scientific park.
Our CHARLES G. SCHOEWE, of 2570 N. 2nd Street, Milwaukee
1 ad a busy archeological year giving over 50 talks on Archeology,
ethnology, Indian Lore and Historic Wisconsin Forts. He spoke to
such varied groups as the Winnebago County Historical Society,
Burlington Rotary Club (was it on folklore?), various Milwaukee
high schools, Outdoor Group of the City Club of Milwaukee,
Knights of Pvthias, PTA's, Mens Clubs, Boy Scout Groups, Jr.
Association of Commerce and over WTMJ. Charles was recently
made a Committeeman for Scout Troop 133 and will regularly
speak to them on Indian Lore, Woodcraft and Nature subjects.
Heap good work, Chief.
Our ALONZO POND of Cave of the Mounds spent the winter
Chert Flakings 31
in, around and across the great state of Texas lecturing under the
management of the School assemblies of Dallas, Texas. Alonzo
even got across the border into Mexico for three hours which he
said reminded him a great deal of his old stamping ground in
North Africa.
Our member RUDOLPH H. BOETTGER, 144 E. Auer Ave., Mil-
waukee has been featured several times recently in the Milwaukee
Journal Green Sheet. One article featured his father as a human-
itarian among a group of Mexican Indian miners; the other featur-
ed his grandfather as the inventor of the safety match. The story
mentions Mr. Boettger's miniature home museum of archeological,
geological and entomological interest.
STOUGHTON FAVILLE, our oldest member and "the oldest
man around Lake Mills", celebrated his 92nd birthday February
12th. Stought is too modest for his attainments in Agriculture,
Archeology and Conservation.
Our Honorary Member and Prairie du Chien historian, DR.
PETER SCANLON, who has an excellent article in the current
issue of Wisconsin Magazine of History on BOLIVAN, AN EARLY
INDIAN AGENT, is confined at the Veterans Administration Hos-
pital, Ward 10, Wood, Wise. Drop him a line.
A PICTORIAL LEGEND MAP &F THE MUKWONAGO LAKES
region in southern Waukesha county has been prepared by our
Nancy Oestreich, a University of Wisconsin student from Milwau-
kee. The data is from the Indian legends collected years ago by
Charles Brown of the Wisconsin Folklore Society.
New address of our previous secretary and editor: PVT. ROB-
ERT B. HARTMAN, 36840989, Co. C, 60 Infantry, T. Bn. 2 PI.,
Camp Wolters, Texas.
CPL. HARRY HANCOCK is transferred to Ft, Brady, Mich.,
739th MP
CHARLOTTE D. GOWER, former assistant professor of the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin in the Anthropology department has been
promoted to the rank of major in the Marine Corps women's re-
serve. Maj. Gower is officer in charge of the women's reserve
section, office oi procurement division of the Marine Corps head-
quarters at Kankakee, 111.
JOHN WHITE EAGLE, son of Sanborn White Eagle at the Wis-
consin Dells has the distinction of being one of the first Indians
from this state to be commissioned a second lieutenant. He was
better known to the tourists at the Dells as Chief White Eagle the
singer. He sang for several years on the boats which made sunset
32 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
trips on the Lower Dells and also sang at the Indian Ceremonial
at Sand Rock.
About the HARDEST WORKING and least known person tak-
ing care of your annual problems is your treasurer, GUS THORNE.
He likes to be kept busy that way, so try and send your annual
remittances on time.
MEMBERS are urged to SEND IN local archeological items in
their daily or weekly newspapers as the secretary receives only the
city edition of Milwaukee dailies, which are different from the
rural edition. (*'"xx!) The secretary doesn't want to be accused
of playing favorites with certain papers when it comes to quoting.
A repository has been set up in the Neville Public Museum of
Green Bay for a study collection with data of potsherds from
Northeastern Wisconsin Indian sites. This collection is open to
anyone wishing to study such material. The project was started
to utilize the numerous potsherds brought into the museum by
local collectors. R. H.
The 1000 acre LAWSONIA ESTATE and hotel with mounds on
Green Lake, originally developed by Victor Lawson, founder of
the Chicago Daily News, has been sold to the Northern Baptist
Convention. They intend to develop the property at once for use
by national and state Baptist groups for summer religious con-
f?rences and assemblies.
We wish to thank the Milwaukee Turner organization and its
editor, Frank Zeidler, for the loan of the Huebschmann engraving.
SUPPLEMENTARY STATEMENT AT KUMLIEN CENTEN-
NIAL by A. B. Stout, Curator of Educational and Laboratories, The
New York Botanical Gardens:
"In the volume on 'Madison, Dane County and Surrounding
towns', published by William J. Park in 1877, there is a des-
criptive sketch of the Lake Koshkonong by Thure Kumlien.
Here it is stated that at Bussyeville there was at one time a
large oak tree on which there was carved the figure of a mud
turtle, and that this faced toward the creek, and nearby on a
hill were several mounds some of which had the shape of the
mud trutle. I did not know of this record when I wrote the
section on the mounds of the Lake Koshkonong region (see
Volume 7, no. 2, The Wisconsin Archeologist), but Mr. Skavl^m
placed a village site not far from Sumner, the present name
for Busseyville.
"It will be splendid if a park can be made which will include
some of the mounds at Koshkonong. The Kumlien group is
not an especially interesting one and it is some distance from
Chert Flakings 33
the lake. The Altpeter group of mounds has several very in-
teresting effigies, and I presume these may be in an excellent
state of preservation."
Members who know of likely new members in the following
counties should send the names to the secretary as we need 'con-
tacts there Burnett, Columbia, Eau Claire, Grant, Marinette and
Ozaukee.
The JUNE ISSUE will be devoted entirely to the decades of
service Dr. Charles Brown gave to Wisconsin. Charley has to re-
tire from work (is that possible?) and will have to take his state
pension. He was supposed to be 'out' last February but the powers
that be gave him a short extension. Members who recall an in-
teresting thought or occasion with Charley are asked to WRITE
THE ITEM IMMEDIATELY TO THE EDITOR who plans to have
a special "Charley Do You Remember?" column.
,
The secretary spent an interesting day at the quarterly meeting
of the ILLINOIS STATE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY at Peoria
Jan. 16th. Over 50 attended in the palatial rooms of Hotel Pierre
Marquette. Our member, Judge Stone, did a swell job as presid-
ing officer. They have a lively and peppy gang. If possible, you
ought to budget a day for their spr ; ng meeting which will be May
5-6, as the Anthropology section 6'.' the Illinois State Academy of
Science, at Northern Illinois State Teachers College, just over the
line at De Kalb, Illinois. Bus transportation is cheap and con-
venient.
Do you want a nice INDIAN CALENDAR? It may still be poss-
ible to get a Great Northern Railroad calendar from your local
agent or the St. Paul office. Keep this in mind next December or
January.
We have received a great deal of PUBLICITY in the press lately.
Your secretary at times has been at a loss to give correct informa-
tion to the press who desired to publicize something about some
of your activities. Try and send me a brief biography about your-
self, what you might say about yourself if you were in Who's Who,
as well as what you like and dislike.
The LAST ISSUE WAS WELL RECEIVED. From the impos-
ing list of new members we are convinced that we have something
to offer the public. Therefore ought we not make NEW GOALS?
At present we have approximately 320 members.
A MEMBERSHIP of how many do you say we ought to have?
One new member from each means 600 members, the least poss-
ible goal. 1000 members perfectly attainable. 2000 members
there are untold prospects among our three million population.
34 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
The Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester, N. Y. will loan to
responsible groups their long movie on WILLIAMSBURG VIR-
GINIA RESTORATION.
In connection with the current talk on post war planning a
thought is given in the New Statesman and Nation of Jan. 15th
that might interest archeologists who believe some of the mounds
in their area merit consideration. In a heated discussion in Par-
liament they diverted discussion into safer channels for three min-
utes by bringing up the question of appropriate war memorials
after this war. Member Joad said that youth was sacrificed in
war, and that instead of stone monuments we should have mem-
orials that meant happiness for the youngsters, and which would
give them opportunity for a more free and adventurous life which
had nothing to do with war. He suggested National parks of
various types.
When the secretary decided to use his county surveyor's office
as the official editor's sanctum for the WISCONSIN ARCHEOL-
OGIST it was necessary for county assistant corporation counsel
to give an opinion legalizing the move. It was made by Robert P.
Russell who now has been commissioned in the Navy.
HAVE YOU READ?
The ANNUAL REPORT OF THE LAKE MILLS- AZT ALAN
HISTORICAL SOCIETY states the Society now has 133 mem-
bers. Caretaker Albert Kracht reports the museum was open
Sunday afternoons last summer and had 828 paid admissions.
Its own members are not charged an admission fee.
REGARDING MIDWEST ARCIIEOLOGICAL TAXON-
OMY, by W. C. McKern, is a technical discussion in the April
1943 issue of American Anthropologist.
THE POLK SINGER, a little song book recently put out
by the Wisconsin College of Agriculture for ten cents, is out
of print. They plan to put out another edition soon.
WISCONSIN PARKS is a new 52 page free booklet avail-
able from the Slate Conservation Commission, Madison.
STATE PARKS AND MEMORIALS OK ILLINOIS is a
new free 38 page booklet with many beautiful pictures of his-
toric and archeological state parks available from Division of
Parks and Memorials, Springfield, 111.
Have You Read?
The Indians of the Western Great Lakes, 1615 to 1760, by
W. Vernon Kinittz, University of Michigan Press, 1940. 427
pages. Price, paper, $3.50; cloth, $4.00.
The July 1943 issue of The Minnesota Archaeologist con-
tains an article about historical clay pipes of the Minnesota
and Wisconsin area by Richard R. Sackett. John Kammerer
has an article on the first birdstone found in Minnesota.
THE KINGSTON VILLAGE SITE, by A. M. Simpson is a
15 page booklet published by the Peoria Academy of Science.
Many findings, especially in pottery, were made at a newly
opened gravel pit.
KOLOMOKI INDIAN MOUNDS of Georgia are now pre-
served as a state park, according to a lengthy article in the
March 1944 issue of Outdoor Georgia.
THE ETHNIC SETTLEMENT OF MONTANA, contributed
to the Western Folklore Conference by Prof. H. G. Merriam,
appeared in the June 1943 issu( of the Pacific Historical Re-
view.
THE HAGEN SITE ; A PREHISTORIC VILLAGE ON THE
LOWER YELLOWSTONE, by William Mulloy, is the first of
a series sponsored by the University of Montana at Missoula.
106 pages.
INDIAN EXPERIENCES, by De Cost Smith, published by
The Caxton Printers, Ltd., Caldwell, Idaho, is a 387 page ac-
count of the author who in 1880 went to the high plains to
paint.
CHIEF SEATTLE, by Eva Greenslit Anderson is a 390 page
account of a friendly Indian war chief whose name is per-
petuated in the largest city in the state of Washington. Cax-
ton Printers $4.00.
SACAJAWEA OF THE SHOSHONES, by Delia Gould Em-
inoiis is a novel celebrating one of the most famous of western
heroines.
NOTES ON POMO ETHNOBOTANY, by Oiner C. Stewart;
36 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
OBSERVATIONS ON THE YUROK: CHILDHOOD AND
WORLD IMAGE, by Erik Homburger Erikson; WASHO-
NORTHERN PAIUTE PEYOTISM, by Omer C. Stewart; and
CONCERNING THE MIDDLE CHIMU STYLE, by Jorge C.
Muelle; are recent University of California publications in
American Archeology and Ethnology.
A war time project for Colorado Archeologists consists of
conducting a classification survey, according to a story by
Pvt. R. M. Tatum, AAF, in the current March issue of South-
western Lore, publication of the Colorado Archeological So-
ciety.
THE RACES OF MANKIND, pamphlet by Ruth F. Ben-
edict and Dr. Gene Weltfish, of Columbia University Depart-
ment of Anthropology, published by Public Affairs Commit-
tee, 130 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City. Ten cents.
Fifty-five thousand copies were for the War Department.
Quite a fuss is being raised because it shows that Northern
negroes living under better conditions are intellectually super-
ior to underprivileged Southern whites.
Sixtieth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Eth-
nology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution has
l;een received.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS, Numbers 19-29, Bulletin
133 and Bulletin 136, Numbers 27-32, of the Smithsonian In-
stitution Bureau of American Ethnology have just been re-
ceived.
EXTENDING EDUCATION is a brand new publication de-
voted to camping education and its leadership. Address:
Life Camps Inc., 14 W. 49th Street, New York City.
THE DISPLACEMENT OF POPULATION IN EUROPE,
by Eugene M. Kulischer, The I. L. O. Montreal. -4s.
Wisconsin Caves 37
WISCONSIN CAVES
Charles E. Brown
A pamphlet listing the "Caves In World History," in Europe,
Asia, Africa and the Americas, has been published by Dr. Alfred
C. Burrill, Director of the Missouri Resources Museum, Jefferson
City, Missouri. It is a reprint of an earlier bulletin on this sub-
ject issued by the National Speleological Society, prepared by
Richard Morgan and to which additions have been made by Dr.
Burrill in republishing it.
This listing of the caves in the United States, deemed worthy of
recognition, shows a tota 1 of slightly over 800 caves. Of these the
greater number, about one-half, are in the Middle West states.
Ohio has 37 caves, Indiana 52, Kentucky 98, Missouri 118, West
Virginia 62, Illinois 14 and Iowa 8. None are listed from Mich-
igan and only 6 from Wisconsin. Pennsylvania has 150 caves,
Tennessee 129, and Virginia 77.
The Wisconsin caves listed by Dr. Burrill are Cave of the
Mounds at Blue Mounds, Eagle Cave near Richland Center, Blue
Mounds Cave at Blue Mounds, Picture Cave (Samuels') near La
Crosse, Crystal Cave in Spring Valley and the Devils Island Caves
(wave cut) on Devils Island, Lake Superior. Bear Cave in Rich-
land County, Robbers' Cave in Wyalusing State Park, Wauzeka
Cave at Wauzeka, Indian Cave near. West Lima, Richardsons Cave
near Verona, the Maribel Caves in Northwestern Manitowoc Coun-
ty and Autograph Cave west of New Lisbon are not listed. All
ore of well known historical interest.
Some years ago the Wisconsin Archeological Society in one of
its bulletins published descriptions of the Wisconsin caves on whose
walls Indian rock carvings and paintings are preserved. In an-
other recent bulletin of the Society, Dorothy Moulding Brown pub-
lished the interesting Indian myths, legends and stories of Wis-
consin caves. Mr. Alonzo W. Pond, its director, printed a des-
cription of the now famous Wisconsin Cave of the Mounds, at Blue
Mounds. This cave and Eagle Cave have become subterranean
museums and are visited annually by many citizens and tourists.
Among the authorities on the historical and geological interest of
Wisconsin caves are W. C. English, Wyocena. H. Russell Briggs,
Madison and V. S. Craun, Milwaukee. Dr. Alfred C. Burrill was
once a member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Col-
lege of Agriculture and in earlier years lecturer at the Milwaukee
Public Museum.
EARLY ILLINOIS MAPS A REVIEW
INDIAN VILLAGES OF THE ILLINOIS COUNTRY is the title of
a new atlas recently published by the Illinois State Historical Mu-
seum at Springfield. It consists of 54 interesting early maps pro-
gressively dating from 1671, and shows by means of 12 by 18 inch
sheets the increasing knowledge of the territory, of the river cours-
es and the location of Indian tribes and villages up to 1830. The
maps overlap into the Wisconsin region and therefor are of value
38 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 1
to Wisconsin archeologists, professionals and amateaurs, and the
growing group of map hobbyists. Cost $3.00.
Of interest to Wisconsin people are notations on maps such as
"Lac des Ilinois" which today is Lake Michigan. On the French
maps Green Bay is known as "Baye des Puans." Fox River is des-
ignated as "R. des Renards." The Rock River is "R. a la Roche."
An 1806 map spells our main river as "Oisconsin." The region
about present Madison is designated as "Stinkers." An 1815 map
shows a river at "Melwakee" and a ways up is a portage con-
nection to a tributary of the lower Fox. A road is shown west of
Milwaukee leading to a village at "Qoshqonong" which lake is a
tributary to the Rock River.
An 1830 map of "Boundary Line between Ceded and Unceded
lands" shows our present Root River as "Chippicotton." The Madi-
son region, then Brown County of Michigan Territory, is desig-
nated as "The Four Lakes" with the Catfish River, and shows In-
dian villages at each lake. A tributary stream to the present Lake
Mendota indicated a "200 yard portage" connecting with a trib-
utary of the Black Earth Creek. Koshkonong is spelled "cosh qui
nong."
A large map of the first Ft. Dearborn is reproduced from the files
of the War department. Dr. Shaddock of the Chicago Historical
Museum warned me not to relay too much upon it for the plan
may have been altered during construction. This type of ob-
servation is of value to those who may blindly copy historical
plans. Thus the architect can learn from the observations of the
archeologist and historian.
W. B.
COMMENT CN A REVIEW
12 February 1944
Dear Bubbert,
I take strong exception in your review of SINNISSIPPI to your
writing that Prof. Petersen "pointed out nearly 50 errors in the
firs* 191 pages" of THE WISCONSIN.
He did no such thing. He said there were such errors there, but
i^ke mrst sloppy reviewers, he failed to produce such e^ro^s when
I called on him. It ought to be noted that Dr. Louise Phelos Kel-
logg. Charles E. Brown, A. O. Barton and others passed on the ms.
c f this book specificallv in search of errors; I rather th ; nk we can
1?ke Dr. Kellogg's findings before Mr. Petersen's, and I think in
the intorost rf pccuracv, you ought not to lend vours^lf to such
statements. It is also apropos to point out the mis-sDelMnp of mv
name in the Archeologist. to the misquotation of the title, Shadov;
of Night, to the mis-spelling of Freie Gemeinde. And it is also
not inap"opos to observe that if you did not note as many errors
; n D*\ Phalen's b^ok as in others, you were plainlv NOT Counting
Dr. Phalen's manv and grotesque errors of omission. The func-
tion of the reviewer is obviously a cunous one in the WA.
Cordially,
A. Derleth
If anyone is interested in a further discussion about "THE WIS-
Institutional Members 39
CONSIN" by Derleth, they are invited to correspond with Pro-
fessor Peterson, Historian, Iowa City, Iowa. The 'Reviewer' still
warns against hasty writing of a book about the Rock River.
INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.
American Museum of Natural History, N. Y. C.
American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.
Appleton Library, Appleton.
Beloit College, Beloit.
Boston Public Library Boston.
University of Chicago Library, Chicago.
Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, O.
Columbia University Library, N. Y. C.
Cornell University Library, Ithaca, N. Y.
Detroit Public Library, Detroit.
Indiana State Library, Indianapolis.
Indiana University Library, Bloomington.
Janesville Public Library, Janesville.
Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Mo.
Kellog Library, Green Bay.
Lake Mills-Aztalan Historical Society, Lake Mills.
Lawrence College Library, Appletcr i.
Michigan State Library, Lansing.
Minneapolis Anthenaeum, Minneapolis, Minn.
Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.
Neville Public Museum, Green Bay.
The Newberry Library, Chicago.
New York City Public Library.
Oshkosh Public Library.
Oshkosh Public Museum.
Princeton University Library, Princeton, N. J.
Racine Public Library.
Salzman Library, St. Francis Seminary, St. Francis.
Sauk County Historical Society, Baraboo.
Gilbert M. Simmons Library, Kenosha.
Milwaukee State Teachers College.
Oshkosh State Teachers College.
University of Arkansas Library, Fayetteville, Ark.
Univ. of Saskatchewan Library, Saskatoon, Canada.
Wausau Public Library.
Yale University Library, New Haven, Conn.
Printed in the Shadow of Old Altaian by The Leader, Lake Mills
DEPARTMENT INDEX
BOOK REVIEWS
Wisconsin Caves Charles E, Brown 37
Illinois Indian Maps Walter Bubbert 37
Comment On a Review August Derleth 38
COMMITTEES
Regular
STATE SURVEY Wm. K. Andrew, Kermit Freckman, Robert R.
Jones, Frank M. Neu, Harold Bullock, M. F. Hulbert, W. E.
Erdman, Dr. P. H. Nesbitt, Charles E. Brown, Erwin Burg,
George L. Pasco.
MOUND PRESERVATION Louis Pierron, Towne L. Miller, H. O.
Zander, C. A. Koubeck, Arthur W. Quan, Paul Scholz, Vetal
Winn, Dr. O. W. Ebert, Ray Owen.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS R. N. Buckstaff, N. J. Behnke, Frederic
Eeath, Gerald C. Stowe, Zida C. Ivey, Rev. F. S. Dayton, Mark
H. Knight, N. W. Roeder, Jens Jacobson, Rev. Peter O. John-
son, Charles E. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE G. M. Thome, Dr. H. W. Kuhm,
Dr. L. S. Buttles, Dr. A. L. Kastner, Mrs. Theodore Koerner,
Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, C.' ?. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich,
M. G. Schmidt, J. K. Whaley, N/E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS C. L. Harrington, Walter
Holsten, Mrs. Robert E. Friend, Robert Hart man, H. G. Rueping.
PUBLICITY Mrs. Wm. K. Andrew, H. J. Kent, Mrs. Theo. Koer-
ner, Albert Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlon, Dorothy M. Brown.
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Charles G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell,
W. C. McKern.
Special
PUBLICATIONS Walter Bubbert, A. E. Koerner, G. M. Thorne,
W. C. McKern, Dr. H. W. Kuhm.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Fred Scholz, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hoefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Mary Vandenburgh,
Kichard W. Moore, Robert Hartman.
Permanent Standing
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A. Bar-
rett, Charles G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
CODIFYING THE TYPES OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES IN WIS-
CONSIN W. C. McKern, Kermit Freckman, Erwin Burg.
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Incorporated 1903
For the purpose of advancing the study and preservation of
Wisconsin Indian Antiquities.
every third Monday of the month at the Milwaukee Public
Museum Conference Room. (Except during July and August.)
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Arthur P. Kannenberg, Oshkosh Public Museum
VICE-PRESIDENTS
W. K. Andrew A. K. Fisher Louis Pierron
Robert B. Hartman
Kermit Freckman
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
DIRECTORS
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Charles E. Brown
(Madison)
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
(Oshkosh)
Erwin G. Burg
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
(New London)
W. E. Erdman
(Horicon)
John G. Gregory
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
(Reedsburg)
Zida C. Ivey
(Ft. Atkinson)
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
(Wild Rose)
Dr. A. L. Kastner
J. J. Knudsen
(Atlanta, Ga.)
A. E. Koerner
Vetal Winn
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
Lauren F. Meyers
W. C. McKern
T. L. Miller
Arthur W. Quan
(Madison)
Robert Ritzenthaler
Charles G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
G. K. Whaley
G. R. Zilisch
(Hustisford)
TREASURER: G. M. Thorne, 917 N. 49th Street, Milwaukee 13, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR: Walter Bubbert
Room 2, County Surveyor's Office, Court House, Milwaukee 3, Wis.
Residence: 1516 N. 37th Street, Milwaukee 8, Wis.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
The Wisconsin Archeologisi is distributed io members
as part of their dues.
Life Members, $25.00
Sustaining Members, $5.00
Institutional Members, $1.50
Endowment Members, $500.00
Annual Members, $2.00
Junior Members, 50$
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Archeological
Society and contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be
addressed to Walter Bubbert, Court House, Milwaukee 3. Wiscon-
sin. Send dues to G. M. Thorne, Treasurer, 917 N. 49th Street,
Milwaukee 13, Wisconsin. Entered as Second Class Matter at the
P. O. at Milwaukee, Wis., under Act of Au<*. 21, 1912.
THE WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 25 No. 2
MILWAUKEE, WIS., JUNE, 1944
New Series
***^x*********^~:******^^^
By A. P. Kannenberg,
President, Wisconsin Archeological Society
With the retirement of Dr. Charles E.
Brown from active duty as Director of the
Wisconsin State Historical Museum, the
state of Wisconsin suffers the loss of a true
servant who has done his( ,vork well. Words
of praise will not repay "Charlie" for what he
has done in the past thirty-six years to re-
construct and preserve the archeological his-
tory of the state.
To those who know Charlie Brown as a
friend and advisor, to those who learned to
love him as we all do, his retirement from ac-
tive duty comes as a sad climax to a brilliant
career which stands out conspicuously as a
monument to his memory and achievement in
the scientific world.
Our very best wishes and fond memories
go with Charlie in his relaxation days. We
can all say, "Thanks, good kind friend, you
have done your work conscientiously and
;; well. You can now reap the fruits of your
harvest."
Sincerely
- O *^
Director, State Historical Museum
Milwaukee
By John G. Gregory
CHARLES EDWARD BROWN, eldest of the four children
of Theodore Dewitt Brown and Elizabeth Kuhlman Brown,
was born in Milwaukee on the 24th day of October, 1872. The
others of the little family were Helen M. Brown, who later
rendered efficient service as a teacher in the Milwaukee public
schools; William Harris Brown (M. D.), who qualified as a
physician and is still in practice, and Theodore Dewitt Brown,
who functioned as an illustrator and commercial artist, dying
in December, 1943.
Theodore Dewitt Brown, the father, was born in New York
State into a family of English ancestry which helped to make
history in Massachusetts and Connecticut. He was a civil
engineer. Coining West in earV manhood and settling in
Milwaukee, he found a demand for his services from the
start. In the 1860 's he was county surveyor. In 1867, 1871,
and 1873-75 he was city engineer, constructing the Milwaukee
waterworks according to the plans of his friend, Moses Lane.
The Kilbourn reservoir, the East Side water tower and the first
Grand Avenue viaduct were constructed under his supervis-
ion. The recreation of his leisure hours was pursuing studies
in geology and history and painting in oils. He died in 1880.
His wife, whom he married in Milwaukee, was a native of
Iles.-'e-Darmsteat of German descent, brought here in girlhood
by her father, Valentine H. Kuhlman, who established himself
as a building contractor and prospered with the growth of the
city. When Indian stragglers, often mothers with pappooses
strapped to their backs, called at the comfortable residence of
the Browns on Seventeenth Street they always received a kind-
Iv welcome and loaves of bread that had been baked by Mrs.
Brown.
Reared in an atmosphere of culture, blessed with a bright
mind and sunny disposition, Charles Edward was never a
43 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
problem to his parents or his teachers. His chosen associates
in the public schools were boys commendable for character and
behavior, and with outdoor interests and hobbies like his own.
His father had a cabinet of geological specimens and Indian
relics and as soon as he was old enough to be allowed to handle
them he spent much time with these. He began collecting ar-
rowheads at an early age. Familiarizing himself with the
technical characteristics of Indian workmanship, he obtained
renown among his school fellows for what seemed like wizardry
by his ability in finding Indian artifacts and explaining their
making and probable uses. With other boys he visited the
old Potawatomi Indian village site at Twenty-sixth Street,
other camp sites on the Menomonee River bluffs at the western
limits of the city and the old gully adjacent the now northern
end of Holton Street viaduct where vestiges of aboriginal oc-
cupation could be easily picked up by all who sought them.
A favorite down-town resort of the group was the drug
store of Dr. Louis Lotz, on the north side of Chestnut Street
(now West Juneau Avenue), just west of Third Street, in the
window of which were displayed a constantly varied succes-
sion of geological, Indian, natural history and other exhibits,
all of them well arranged and fully labeled. Dr. Lotz be-
came very found of the young men and invited them into the
store and there gave them further instruction. In these years
he prepared miniature models of the pueblo of Acoma and of
the famous Cliff Palace, which today occupy cases in the Wis-
consin State Historical Museum. He also invited them to his
home to see his valuable collections and to see his live bald
eagle which he kept chained to a pole on the grounds of his
Galena Street residence. His books on natural history and
anthropology they eagerly pursued. This inspiration and
encouragement which he gave to them none of the young
naturalists ever forgot.
The young men also became frequent visitors at the Mil-
waukee Public Museum, then located in the old Exposition
building where the then director, Charles H. Doerflinger, as-
sisted them in further pursuing their studies. Other young
men of similar interests here met and became acquainted and
Early Milwaukee Background 44
the Milwaukee Natural Science Association was formed, meet-
ing for years at the members' homes.
In 1898 Charles Edward entered the salaried employment
of the Milwaukee Public Museum, where he remained four
years, gaining recognition which in 1904 procured for him a
museum appointment as curator of the Ethnology building in
the U. S. Philippine Exhibition of the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition at St. Louis, where he spent more than a year and
was awarded a medal for distinctive service. Here he made
the acquaintance of the distinguished American anthropolo-
gists, Dr. O. L. Howard, Dr. W. J. McGee, William C. Mills,
Gerard Fowke, Warren K. Moorehead, and others.
Of particular interest to readers of this publication was an
incident of Mr. Brown's early manhood with commitments
which kept him busy for a long time. Young and older men,
among them L. R. Whitney, W. H. Ellsworth, Roland L. Por-
ter, 0. L. Hollister, George A. West, Dr. C. D. Stanhope, and
Harry A. Crosby, most of whom had been his close companions
for years, gathered with him in a room in the Public Library
building, in 1898, to discuss measuVes for consolidating archae-
ological interests and .furthering their promotion. The vol-
unteer enthusiasts went to work in a practical way, achieving
important results. Within a few years The Wisconsin Arch-
eological Society had on its rolls the names of approximately
600 members. In 1901 it established a quarterly publication,
The Wisconsin Archeologist, which is still in flourishing ex-
iestence, with readers and subscribers in every part of the
United States. The Wisconsin Archeological Society com-
mands influence in the community. Its secretary and editor
for many years was Mr. Brown, who has been a constant con-
tributor to the magazine.
So strong were his attachments to his Milwaukee associations
that he was reluctant to have them permanently interfered
with ; but in 1908, at the instance of the indefatigable histor-
ian, Dr. Reuben Gold Thwaites, he was induced to remove to
Madison and assume the duties of chief of the Museum of the
Wisconsin State Historical Society, in which capacity he has
officiated from that time till now, winning golden opinions
from overvbodv.
Albert 0. Barton,
Dane County Register of Deeds
When Charles E. Brown came to Madison from Milwaukee
in 1908, to take charge of the Wisconsin State Historical Mu-
seum, comparatively little had been done in the way of studies
of the aboriginal monuments and other remains in Wisconsin.
Increase A. Lapham had published his invaluable "The An-
tiquities of Wisconsin," and his pioneer archeological associ-
ates, Rev. Stephen D. Peet, William H. Canfield, and Dr. Philo
R. Hoy and others, had published scattered studies of par-
ticular groups of Indian mounds. But since Lapham 's pre-
liminary investigations (1836-50) there had been no systematic
attempt at covering the entire state or making thorough sur-
veys of the prehistoric monuments and sites of particular re-
gions or counties.
Local archeologists knew there were many fine mounds
about the Madison lakes, but they were utterly unprepared
for the information, for instance, that Lake Mendota had 40
mound groups with 255 mounds, that Monona had 17 groups
and 172 mounds, and Lake Wingra 18 groups and 148 mounds
while Lake Koshkonong in Jefferson county had 23 groups
and nearly 500 mounds. The careful surveying and map-
ping of such group memorials throughout the state and the
locating of sites of others destroyed was an invaluable con-
tribution to Wisconsin archeological history.
In this work and particularly in securing the whole-
hearted cooperation of others Mr. Brown was remarkably
successful. A phenomenon somewhat difficult to understand
was the success which almost invariably attended every sucli
movement or undertaking by him. The monthly meetings of
The Wisconsin Archeological Society at Milwaukee, for in-
stance, through a period of 40 years, have been attended by
from 40 to 60 members, while practically every field meeting
of the Society under Mr. Brown's direction lias been a "tri-
Wisconsin's Charles Brown 46
umph," every dedication an event, and every minor under-
taking a success.
Reverting to the reference to cooperation, a further ob-
servation may be permissable. Through this fact, Mr. Brown
has brought a new interest into the lives of many people and
has been a beneficent influence to a noteworthy degree. To
scores of blase business men, or idle heirs of wealth and leis-
ure, who have found life hollow and business a squirrel cage
of monotony, Mr. Brown has provided a life-saving "escape,"
that escape which everyone must seek at times when life or
success palls. It is not too much to say that many men and
women alike have through a new interest in archeology and
other subjects been saved from earlier graves, some perhaps
from asylums, a new zest in living has been vouchsafed them,
a new inspiration and an uplifting of faculties long dormant.
A detailed presentation of Charles E. Brown's more notable
services alone would require more exhaustive treatment than
can be here given it. In its stead a topical survey of his rec-
ord of public service is herewith presented, necessarily a
severely brief and condensed one :
RECORD OF PUBLIC SERVICE
1900-1944
Appointed assistant on the staff of the Milwaukee Public Mu-
seum, 1898. Dr. Henry Nehrling, director.
Appointed to assist in the installation of the U. S. Philippine
Exhibition, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Missouri,
1904. Acting chief of the Ethnology building, later of the Fish
and Game building. Dr. William P. Wilson, director.
Appointed chief of the State Historical Museum, Wisconsin
Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin, 1908. Title later changed
to director. Served until retired, 1944. Dr. Reuben Gold Thwaites,
secretary and superintendent.
Member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, 1914-1944.
Lecturer in the Department of Art Education, School of Education,
1932-1944. Gave courses in museum administration and museum
apprenticeship. Prof. William H. Varnum, Department chairman.
Secretary of The Wisconsin Archeological Society, 1903-1940.
47 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
Editor of The Wisconsin Archeologist, 1903-1940. One of its organ-
izers.
Curator of the Wisconsin Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters.
1908-1941. Active in arranging programs for and conducting its
annual joint meetings held at Madison, Milwaukee, Beloit, Osh-
kosh, and other cities.
State director of Federal Writers' Projects, W. P. A., 1935-1939.
This project originally consisted of the Wisconsin Guide, Folklore
Project, and Historical Records Survey.
President of the Madison Mushroom Club (now the University
Mushroom Club), 1910-1944. One of its organizers. Also one of
the organizers of the Wisconsin Mycological Society, 1902-1908,
Milwaukee. Made honorary member.
Secretary of the Wisconsin Audubon Society, 1908-1911. Active
in its outings, etc.
President, Midwest Museums Conference (now the Wisconsin
Museums Conference), 1935-1944. One of its organizers.
Director, Wisconsin Folklore Society, 1928-1944. One of its or-
ganizers. Conducted researches and published numerous booklets,
leaflets, and papers.
President, Central Section, American Anthropological Associ-
ation, 1925-1926. One of its organizers. Offered papers in its
meeting programs.
Wisconsin member of the Committee on State Archeological Sur-
veys, National Research Council, 1925-1929, until disbanded.
With George R. Fox co-organizer of the Michigan-Indiana Mu-
seums Association, now the Midwest Museums Conference (Mich-
igan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Illinois), American Museums
Association. Vice-president, 1942.
Member of the advisory board of The National Gallery of the
American Indian, New York City, 1941-1944.
One of the re-organizers of the Wisconsin Natural History Society
and active in its work until it disbanded.
Former chairman of the Museums Committee, Mississippi Val-
ley Historical Association.
Supervisor, Historical Museum Project, W. P. A., 1938. Super-
visor, Indian Mounds Repair Project, W. P. A. This project re-
paired ten groups of mounds located on the University campus, in
the Madison city parks and along the lake drives. Two groups in
Wisconsin's Charles Brown 48
the University Arboretum had been previously repaired with the
assistance of the work camp. A separate, W. P. A. project repair-
ed the mounds in Aztalan Mound Park.
Assisted in the work of the University of Wisconsin summer ses-
sions by conducting historical excursions and hikes, conducting
weekly folklore meetings, giving lectures, and preparing special
museum exhibits, 1915-1943. Published campus leaflets.
Also active in the work of The Friends of Our Native Landscape,
the Wisconsin Outers' Association, Madison Art Association, Madi-
son Boy and Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Madison Y. M. C. A.,
Hobby Shows, Wisconsin Philatelic Society, Boys and Girls Stamp
Club, West End Club, Tenth Ward Association, and other organiz-
ations. All these were bound to him in a strange loyalty and de-
votion, whose explanation must lie in the faculty of giving wholly
of himself and of taking a generous personal interest in every new
acquaintance formed.
Member since its organization of the American Museums As-
sociation and of The American Association for State and Local
History.
Honorary member of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis;
Mississippi Valley National Park Assr jiation; Society of American
Indians (during its existence); Anthropological Society of Wash-
ington (during existence); the Dane County Horticultural Society
(during its existence); and other state and national organizations.
Member of the Jean Nicollet Memorial Commission, of the Ar-
boretum Committee, University of Wisconsin, and of Alpha Kappa
Delta, honorary sociology and anthropology fraternity, University
of Wisconsin.
HONORS AND MEDALS
Given honorary degree by the University of Wisconsin, 1931.
Awarded medal by the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis,
1905.
Awarded Lapham Medal, "For Distinguished Service in Anthro-
pological Research," by The Wisconsin Archeological Society, Mil-
waukee, 1926.
Awarded Medal and Diploma, "For outstanding and untiring
research in the field of American Archaeology, for notable con-
tributions to the advancement of Archaeology and Kindred Sub-
jects, and for the high esteem in which he is regarded by his col-
leagues" by the Illinois State Archaeological Society, Illinois State
Historical Society, Illinois State Natural History Survey, Illinois
State Geological Society, Illinois State Museum, and Southern
49 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
Illinois Normal University, at a meeting of the Illinois Academy of
Science, held at Northwestern University, Evanston, May 2, 1941.
ARCHEOLOGICAL FIELD WORK
The Wisconsin Archeological Society grew out of the earlier
Wisconsin Natural History Society. In the year 1901, when the
Archeological Section of the Wisconsin Natural History Society was
organized at Milwaukee by a small but enthusiastic group of men
interested in continuing the earlier archeological investigations,
there were in the state of Wisconsin several hundred men of more
or less prominence in their home localities who were engaged in
the collecting of Indian implements. Many of these were profes-
sional and business men who were invited to become members of
the section and to assist in bringing about a systemmatic survey
and investigation of the state's Indian pre-history and history. In
this effort the officers of the Section were very successful.
In order that all of its members might keep in close touch with
the progress of archeological research The Wisconsin Archeologist,
its official bulletin, was published. In the year 1903, the Section
became The Wisconsin Archeological Society and continued the
publication of the bulletin.
Charles E. Brown was one of the organizers and a very active
member of both the Section and the state society. In order to
augment their knowledge of the archeological remains of the sur-
rounding regions the Milwaukee and other members organized fild
expeditions. On October 17, 1901, the first of these field parties
visited the Fox River region in Vernon Township, Waukesha
County. Among the members of this party were O. L. Hollister,
Charles E. Brown, Dr. C. D. Stanhope, Lee R. Whitney. Edgar E
Teller, Rolland L. Porter, and A. F. Laue. Under the guidance of
Mr. Hollister they visited and prepared survey plats of several
mound groups and of an interesting horseshoe-shaped enclosure.
Field notes of these were made from which a description was after-
wards prepared.
During the spring to autumn months of that year Mr. Brown and
other members visited the sites of the mound groups located in
Milwaukee and vicinity described by Dr. Lapham and other early
investigators, collecting additional information and locating some
mounds and sites which had been missed by them.
During the years 1903 to 1906 Mr. Brown and other members of
the Societv engaged in archeological investigations at Muskego
Lake, Mukwonago, Waukesha, Brookfield, Thiensville. Elkhart
Lake, Lake Mills, Buffalo Lake, Neenah, Menasha, Oak Creek,
Kenosha, and many other localities.
Wisconsin's Charles Brown 50
In October, 1906, Mr. Brown prepared and published a report,
"A Record of Wisconsin Antiquities," recording in convenient
form for ready use all of the archeological remains located in the
state by members of the Society and by pioneer investigators. A
number of additions to this record were printed in the years fol-
lowing.
Mr. Brown continued his field work and studies at every favor-
able opportunity through the years 1907 to 1912, also publishing
papers and monographs on Wisconsin stone and metal implements
for the information of members and of archeologists in other states.
In 1912, the Society, having received a $1500.00 appropriation
for field work from the state, Geo. A. West, Charles E. Brown, and
Dr. Orrin Thompson were appointed a committee to organize a
state archeological survey. In this year and for a number of years
following parties of two or three investigators were sent largely
to regions in the northern and central counties of the state where
but little or no archeological investigation had ever been carried
on. Mr. Brown supervised this work under the direction of the
survey committee. The investigators received no salary, only their
traveling and other necessary expenses being paid. Reports of
their work were published. A rich harvest of data and informa-
tion was thus garnered. Among tty men engaged in this survey
were Dr. Geo. L. Collie, Geo. R. Fox, H. L. Skavlem, J. P. Schu-
macher, Geo. H. Squier, Harry E. Cole, W. A. Titus, Alonzo W.
Pond, Prof. Albert S. Flint, Albert O. Barton, Alfred T. Flint,
Towne L. Miller, L. R. Whitney, H. O. Younger, Robert Becker,
J. H. Glaser, and H. A. Smythe. Mr. Brown himself conducted
many parties of investigators.
The report on the survey work accomplished during the year
1912 showed that field work had been carried on in 30 Wisconsin
counties, and that 166 mound groups, 53 solitary mounds, 173 vil-
lage and camp sites, 28 burial grounds, 25 planting grounds (garden
beds and cornfields), and numerous other archeological features of
interest had been located, surveyed, mapped, photographed, and
some of them excavated. Ten separate parties were in the field.
Thereafter similar reports were made to the Society of the work
performed at the close of each year, until this survey was closed.
In 1908, Mr. Brown having removed to Madison to direct the
work of the Wisconsin Historical Museum as its chief, he and Dr.
W. G. McLachlan undertook the work of surveying and investi-
gating the mounds and sites of the Madison lakes. Soon reports
on each of the five lakes Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Waubesa,
and Kegonsa were published.
In the years succeeding he engaged in work in many other lake
51 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
and river regions in the state and printed the results of most of
these in the quarterly issues of The Wisconsin Archeologist.
PUBLICATIONS ON SURVEY SUBJECTS
The following are the titles of Mr. Brown's survey reports
arranged in order of their publication :
Wisconsin Spirit Stones.
Wisconsin Garden Beds.
Collecting Archeological Data Along the Pecatonica River.
Aboriginal Evidences in Northwest Wisconsin.
Undescribed Mound Groups of Lake Mendota.
Some Archeological Features of Eau Claire, Chippewa, Rusk
and Dunn Counties.
A Wisconsin Catlinite Quarry.
Lac Court Oreille Region.
Lake Wingra.
Archeological History of Milwaukee County.
Grant County Indian Remains.
The Antiquities of Green Lake.
The Chetek and Rice Lakes.
Fox Lake.
Beaver Dam Lake.
Lake Monona.
Waukesha County, Northern Townships.
Waukesha County, Southern Townships.
Indian Gravel Pit Burials in Wisconsin.
Indian Caves in Wisconsin.
Rock Lake.
Delavan Lake.
Pike Lake.
Lake Geneva and Lake Como.
Sacred Springs.
Indian Village Sites of the Lower Rock River Valley in Wis-
consin.
Pine, Beaver and North Lakes.
The Brule-St. Croix Portage Trail.
Petroglyphs at the Mouth of the Lemonweir River.
Indian Fords of the Rock River.
PUBLICATIONS ON INDIAN IMPLEMENTS
One of Mr. IJrown's greatest pleasures during his many
years of archeological service has been to engage in the study
of some interesting Indian artifact or group of Indian im-
plements. In back issues of The Wisconsin Archeologist he
Wisconsin's Charles Brown 52
has published papers on many of these. A partial list of these
is given :
Fluted Stone Axes.
Pierced Tablets or Gorgets in the W. H. Ellsworth Collection.
A Double Bitted Axe in the W. H. Vogel Collection.
The Stone Spud.
The Native Copper Implements of Wisconsin.
The Native Copper Ornaments of Wisconsin.
Implement Caches of the Wisconsin Indians.
The Bird-Stone Ceremonials of Wisconsin.
The Distribution of Discoidals, Cones, Plummets and Boat Stones
in Wisconsin.
Notes on the Occurence of and Use of Bone, Shell, Hematite and
Shell Implements in Wisconsin.
An Ornamented Stone Axe.
Silver Trade Crosses.
Banner Stone Ceremonials of Wisconsin.
The Occurrence of Marine Shells on Indian Sites in Wisconsin.
Ceremonial Knives.
Wisconsin Indian Medals.
Grooved Stone Axes.
Indian Trade Implements and Ornaments.
Stone Celts.
Algonkian Artifacts.
Chipped Flint and Quartzite Knives.
Angular Barbed Arrowpoints.
Flint Scrapers.
Stone Gouges.
Stone Spades and Hoes.
Stone Pestles and Mortars.
An Interesting Type of Flint Spearpoint.
Checklist of Wisconsin Indian Implements.
Turkey Tail Points.
Barbed Stone Axes.
Pottery Smoothers.
Fire-Steels.
A Copper Bird and Effigy Ornament.
Stone Adzes.
Corner Tang Flint Artifacts.
Triangular Arrowpoints.
A Fluted Copper Spud.
A Copper Adze.
Indian Trade Finger Rings.
Mr. Brown has also published in The Wisconsin Archeologist
in the years 1901 to 1944 many articles on other subjects such
as Wisconsin archeologists, Indians, folklore, archeological
53 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
technique, collections, exhibits, museums, meetings and con-
ventions, mound types, frauds, and airplane photographs.
After the museum had been installed for some years in its quar-
ters in the new Historical library, Supt. Thwaites appointed Mr.
Brown to the position of Chief of the Museum. Mr. Brown did
not apply for the position, but had been strongly recommended
for it by the officers of the Archeological Society.
Dr. Thwaites had already formed an acquaintance with Mr.
Brown through his work at Milwaukee and at the Exposition at
St. Louis, in 1904. A fine friendship and spirit of co-operation ex-
isted between Dr. Thwaites and Mr. Brown to the end of h ; s life.
Dr. Thwaites died Oct. 22, 1913.
Illustrative of how Mr. Brown attracted the attention and de-
votion of great and busy scientists was the case of Dr. Frederick
Starr, long the distinguished anthropologist of the University of
Chicago. Dr. Starr, educator, lecturer, world traveler, and author
of distinction, had lived among many strange peoples, including
the Ainus of Japan, the earlier aboriginal people of Nippon, in
their mountain retreats, and had returned for the world's fair in
Chicago in 1893. Mr. Brown and a friend called on him at his
quarters and formed his acquaintance and close friendship. When
the Wisconsin Archeological Society was formed, Dr. Starr be-
came a charter member and remained a loyal member to the end.
appearing on its programs when requested to, and occasionally
visiting in Madison. His last appearance was as a speaker before
the Madison Saturday Lunch Club.
Dr. Starr was but one of scores of distinguished members to
join the Archeological Society, educators, scientists, archeologists,
historians, businessmen, physicians, lawyers, ministers, collectors,
writers, the greater number of whom were attracted to the so-
ciety through acquaintance with Mr. Brown and who loyally sup-
ported and cooperated with him throughout their lives.
Thus the first decade or dozen years of Mr. Brown's residence in
Madison may be described as the golden era in Wisconsin arche-
ology. In that period were held the most notable field assemblies,
pilgrimages, and dedications of the society. Hundreds of mounds
and mound groups were investigated, mapped and tableted. Manv
groups of prehistoric mounds were permanently preserved and
many indoor and outdoor museums founded.
In that period was built up the remarkable roll of distinguished
and enthusiastic members of the Society under Mr. Brown's stim-
ulating leadership. State laws were passed for the protection and
preservation of Indian mounds and appropriations were made for
their study. Many excellent numbers of the Archeologist and
Wisconsin's Charles Brown 54
other notable papers were published, including the celebrated
dedicatory address of H. B. Lathrop in 1910, an Indian mound ded-
ication poem by William Ellery Leonard, a dissertation by Dr. Rus-
sell Fish, and the address by H. L. Skavlem on the dedication of
the White Crow memorial at Carcojou Point on Lake Koshkonong,
which attracted marked attention.
With two other honored members of the State Historical Society,
Mr. Brown is scheduled to retire from active service under the
state retirement system June 30, 1944, thus closing 36 years of
service with the Historical Museum. At a testimonial dinner giv-
en in their honor by the officers and staff of the Society at the
Memorial Union appropriate tribute was paid them for long, dis-
tinguished and valuable services to the Society and the state.
One of the last projects to which Mr. Brown gave his attention
before retiring was that of bringing down to date an archeological
atlas of Wisconsin on which he had been at work since 1929. This
invaluable work shows the main Indian trails, camp sites, and In-
dian mound groups in the state by counties and often by town-
ships, a repository of information of great value to students of the
historical development of Wisconsin.
Relieved of the routine of office administration, Mr. Brown may
be expected to continue, if more leisurely, the studies and pur-
suits to which he gave so many fruitful years, and further con-
tributions of value in his field are confidently expected by his
friends, who wish him many more serene and satisfying years
ahead.
The occasion to pay a passing tribute is herein seized and may
be pardoned for the seizing. So we would say in all reverence,
that when the time comes for C. E. B. to go the way of the red
deer, the anemone, and the swan, we shall shed no tears, however
heavy our hearts. It will be in the ordained process of nature
with which he as one of nature's children will be in tune. He
would have it so. As gently and as innocently as autumn's last
maturing rose, his form will return to friendly mother earth and
his sentient self to the great whole whence it sprang. Under the
warm winds of autumn, beneath the red leaves of the ivy and the
oak, we may if haply we do not precede him find a greener spot
where he rests, symbolic of one in our hearts to his memory. Still-
ness will be deep where he sleeps. The half-tame robin, which
never feared him in life, may hop across his bed under the chip-
munk's protest, and the twilight hare may sit a moment above him;
Stillness will be deep.
There will be stars over the place forever;
There will be stars forever, while we sleep.
GUanleA, .
For more than thirty-six years now, Charles E. Brown has
been guiding the fortunes of the Museum of the Wisconsin
Historical Society. In that time he has seen it grow from a
small collection of ill-assorted "relics" which included a
withered mummy hand and a chip from the Blarney stone to
an excellent collection of more than 200,000 portraits, historical
objects, and ethnological specimens.
Much has been accomplished for the Museum and for arch-
eology and folklore in Wisconsin because of Mr. Brown's
friendly enthusiasm. He has always been willing to talk
with people with Indians attracted by his interest in their
life history, with mushroom gatherers anxious to know which
fungi they dared eat, with river men or lumberjacks or lead
miners, with Germans, Norwegians, "Cousin Jacks," or other
immigrant groups to Wisconsin.
For years Mr. Brown has been a sort of missionary for
archeology and history and hobbies traveling up and down
the state of Wisconsin encouraging a collector here, helping
save an Indian mound there, and swapping tales at still an-
other place. We trust that he will remain an enthusiastic
Wisconsin fixture for years to come.
EDWARD P. ALEXANDER,
Director, State Historical Society
The active interests of Charles E. Brown have been so varied
and diversified throughout a long, busy life, that one must
leave to the biographer the interesting task of so much as out-
lining the complete picture. It has been as an archeoloarist
in the Wisconsin field that I have known Charlie Brown with
any degree of intimacy and understanding. Consequently, it
is to Brown the Archeologist that I wish to dedicate these ac-
knowledgements.
lirown stands as the accepted leader of a remaining few of
Acknowledgements 56
a group of Wisconsin citizens who put Wisconsin on the
archeological map, and at a surprisingly early date. Pre-
viously such outstanding individuals as Increase A. Laphara,
Cyrus Thomas, Stephen D. Peet, and a few others had served
to define the interest-merits of this field, but little organized
effort of importance was instigated to focus general attention
and direct work on local archeology until the founding, in
1901, of the Archeological Section of the Wisconsin Natural
History Society. The ring leaders in this enterprise included
Charlie Brown, who became the first secretary of the Section.
In 1903 the Wisconsin Archeological Society was founded as
a separate organization, and again Brown was selected as sec-
retary. It is indicative of the splendid performance he rend-
ered in this capacity that he remained secretary until 1941
when, at his own urgent request, he completed his long serv-
ice in that office. The following year he was elected to the
presidency of the organization, a long-delayed honor.
But Brown had become interested in archeology previous
to the founding of the Society, and his interest found active
expression, without lag, throughout the many years to follow.
He was on the staff of the Milwaukee Public Museum from
1898 until 1905, when he became chief of the State Historical
Museum.
The facilities for making extensive contacts afforded by this
new position and by the secretaryship of the Wisconsin Aich-
eological Society made it possible for Brown to become famil-
iar with the region of which Wisconsin is a center, and wher-
ever he went he secured facts and made friends. His broad
interests and his happy faculties for cordiality and diplomacy
served in the course of time to make the name Charlie Brown
one of the best known, and the man who bore it one of the
most cordially admired in the state.
I have mentioned these years of broad and successful con-
tacts because without them the contributions to Wisconsin
archeology which Brown has made would have been quite im-
possible. Both as the representative of his institution and as
a voice of the Wisconsin Archeological Society, and also as a
friendl v. interested individual, he gained recognition as the
57 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
central figure who was at all times ready to offer sympathetic
interest and to dispense desired information. As is invar-
iably the case in such circumstances, he not only served his
public but he was rewarded with a wealth of information
which flowed in from farmers, professors, laborers, employers;
from all who were interested.
Such interest is contagious, and folks who previouslj* had
not stopped to think upon such matters began to develop an
interest in the prehistory of their farm, their county, their
state. Collectors of prehistoric material and information
multiplied, and Brown was in close contact with most of
them. The obvious result was that he soon became the foun-
tain head of knowledge on such subjects as typology and dis-
tribution. The nut had been cracked and the factual keuiel
of Wisconsin archeology was exposed to view.
The two most apparent results of this circulating of arch-
eological interest-currents through Charlie Brown were two
accumulating collections: one of the archeological materials
gathered and preserved under the custodianship of the State
Historical Museum, the other of archeological information
gathered and preserved under the auspices of the Wisconsin
Archeological Society. The former now constitutes one of the
outstanding collections of its kind in the country; the latter
luis supplied the long series of facts which has appeared
throughout the years in the pages of the Wisconsin Arch-
eologist, under the direction of its editor, Charlie Brown.
To properly emphasize the part that Brown played in this
archeological development in our state in no way minimizes
the important parts played by his outstanding associates.
Their contributions have been or will be cited at specifically
appropriate times and places. They in no way detract from
or rival the accomplishments of Brown. The work toward
the common objective was cooperative. There can be no
legitimate emotional rivalry in scientific investigation.
This important accumulation of material and other in-
formative data does not complete the major contribution
made bv Brown. It is doubtful if anv man in anv state lias
Acknowledgements 58
accomplished more toward the preservation of Indian mounds
and other surface features of archeological import. Here
again his wide knowledge of the field, and of citizens interested
in that field, served vitally toward rewarding his efforts with
success; but it was Brown's persistent, unyielding agitation
and leadership that started, and has kept alive a program
which has resulted in the marking and permanent preservation
of most of those sites which are now protected. Instance af-
ter instance could be cited, but most of them are matters of
common knowledge to the readers of this magazine, even if
there were space to accomodate their recital.
I doubt if there are many men in Wisconsin who have as
many staunch friends as Charlie Brown, and his contributions
to Wisconsin archeology alone, only one of his fields of pro-
ductive interest, are as outstanding as they are widely recog-
nized. And don't let anyone tell you that his active days are
over; he is still very much on the job.
W. C. McKERN,
Director, Milwaukee Public Museum
* * * *
My attention has been called to the fact that Dr. Charles
E. Brown is retiring, July 1st, as Director of the Wisconsin
Historical Museum. It has been my privilege and pleasure to
know Dr. Brown for many years.
During those years, my admiration for his high character,
and appreciation of his personal friendship as well as his sym-
pathetic understanding of and consideration for the Indian,
especially in our beloved state, have steadily grown until it
seems to me that we owe him a debt of gratitude which can
never be paid off by the utmost that we may say or do.
As director of the Wisconsin Historical Museum he has
shown great ability, wide and accurate knowledge, and rend-
ered valuable, efficent, and lasting service. He glorified his
office by his scholarly and conscientious interest in it and de-
votion to it, and made the Museum incalculably rich in its
possessions and associations. Under his guidance and di-
rection it has become an institution of immense value and
59 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
servce to our state and nation.
Indians know their friends and never forget any kindness
shown them. The Indians in Wisconsin regard Dr. Brown as
a true, sincere friend and they are proud and grateful as they
think and speak of him. They will never fail or falter in
their loyalty to him for his never failing interest in them and
concern for their welfare.
It gives me a feeling of sadn-s to think of this noble friend
retiring from the office to which he has given the best years
of his faithful and fruitful life. The passing of time, how-
ever, makes these changes inevitable. I hope and pray that
the years of retirement for Dr. Brown may be long; that the
satisfaction of life well-spent may bring him increasing peace,
that the thoughts and memories of the great host of
friends who feel undying gratitude for his influence, his
friendship, his gentle and generous nature, and his inspiring
personality may fill his cup of ioy to overflowing.
COL. (Chief) YELLOW THUNDER
(Winnebago)
Wisconsin Dells
* * # *
Wisconsin our state, and America our country, are both far
richer by virtue of the life-long service which Charles K.
lirown has devoted toward its Indian lore and allied history.
So true is this that one wonders just how much would have
been lost to us and to posterity, forever, had it not been for
the contribution of this single man.
Not only did he have it all in his heart and mind, but it took
possession of every fibre of his being to do the tiling that lie
knew should be done, now, before it was too late.
Thai many of our Indian mounds have been discovered, ex-
amined, restored, preserved, catalogued, and marked, we can
llmnk the ceaseless, untiring work of Charles K. lirown. And
Iliat can well be said of many an historical spot, or event, or
relic the value of which increases with each passing year.
To those of ns who have had the rare privilege of knowing
Acknowledgements 60
him intimately as an archeologist, researcher, historian, delver
into everything worth while and as a true, loyal friend of
the State, the University, the Historical Museum and of all
mankind, Charles E. Brown will be recorded in our memories
as "a permanent institution," an inseparable part and parcel
of our state and its good life.
Well has he earned "green pastures" in the Happy Hunt-
ing Grounds, though we wish for him many more years wher-
ever heart's desire may lead him.
COL. J. W. JACKSON,
Executive Director, The Madison
and Wisconsin Foundation
* * * *
The Summer Session of the University of Wisconsin is deep-
ly indebted to Charles E. Brown for many years of devoted
and enthusiastic service to its students. For three decades,
at least, to my knowledge, he expended himself most generous-
ly, summer after summer, in providing cultural entertainment
for these students.
II>> was indefatigable in preparing and conducting excur-
sions by launch and car to the Indian effigy mounds and vil-
lage sites on the lake shores in Madison and vicinity, hikes to
spots of historical interest on the campus, personally conduct-
ed tours through the State Historical Museum, and folk-lore
meetings on such topics as Paul Bunyon legends, old steam-
boat days on the Mississippi, Blank Hawk tales, and the legends
of I ake Mendota. He printed interesting pamphlets and bul-
letins on John Muir, the Indian relics of Wisconsin, campus
tours and beauty spots, and the like, for free distribution at
his gatherings; they were eagerly received and beyond all
doubt they are highly treasured souvenirs in many a home
library today.
The Summer Session naturally attracts a somewhat matur-
er personnel than the semesters, and teachers normally make
up about half of the student body. It was among these teach-
ers that Chief Brown's work found the warmest welcome.
For many of them these extra-curricular, but genuinely cul-
61 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
tural and highly interesting activities, were one of the prin-
cipal attractions of the Session, and many teachers participated
over and over again. Chief Charlie's kindliness, unflagging
enthusiasm, and far-reaching antiquarian, anthropological and
archeological knowledge made these occasions high spots in
their summer experiences.
As director of the Summer Session during the past three
decades, I am conscious of a deep obligation to Chief Charles
E. Brown for his tireless zeal and unwearying cooperation in
enriching the offerings of the Session with these delightful
contributions. 1 am more than happy to pay him :i richly
deserved tribute upon the occasion of his retirement. His
circle of friends and well-wishers is immense and I am sure he
hasn't an enemy in all the world. We all join in wishing him
happiness in the consciousness of work well done, contentment
in the knowledge of a purposeful life well spent. an<l good
health for many years to come.
S. H. GOODNIGHT,
Dean of Men,
University of Wisconsin
Knowing Charles E. Brown as 1 have had the pleasure of
knowing him intimately since 1921, I still marvel at the bound-
less and exhuberant enthusiasm of his tcchnical-plus-human
interest in subjects so vast and diversified as to defy enumer-
ation. Yet by some miracle he manages always to budget his
time, focus his attention upon each subject, and render trained
direction and constructive service! How he does it is beyond
understanding. Indian lore, hobnail glftps, willow ware,
ehippindale, mushrooms, or what not all round a place in
Charlie's interest.
Possibly Hie answer to his breadth of interest lies i-i the
heart of the man a heart so bi^, so warm, so friendly the
heart of a boy in the body of a man growing old gracefully in
work he loves. To know Charlie is to love him while
Acknowledgements 62
ing him, a privilege which I shall always cherish in the rose
jar of my fondest memories.
J. H. H. ALEXANDER,
Supt., Information & Education
Wisconsin Conservation Department
In connection with the management of the state parks and
allied recreational areas, we have on many occasions sought
the advice of Charles E. Brown. As you know, on some of
our state parks are located outstanding Indian mound groups,
and their preservation and protection for all time has been
largely the result of Mr. Brown's efforts.
We regret that he is retiring from the active scene for he
has always been of assistance, lot only in the field in which
he was a specialist, but also in applied conservation problems
generally. Of course we expect to see him and to confer with
him on matters of mutual concern for many years to come.
C. L. HARRINGTON,
Supt. of Forests & Parks
Wisconsin Conservation Department
As Director Charles E. Brown of the State Historical Mu-
seum ceases active participation, it is a privilege to write a
brief summary of our associations.
Technically, Mr. Brown will retire, but those of us who know
him realize that such a state is impossible for a man with his
energy and enthusiasm. Throughout his life, he has been,
and will continue to be, an apostle of that which is best in the
culture of Wisconsin.
l^eeling that art and museum interests should be intimately
connected, in 1932 Mr. Brown collaborated in the establish-
in- nt of courses in museum apprenticeship and administration.
It was our privilege to have him as a member of our staff in
t^e Department of Art Education. Not only did he conduct
courses related to museum work, but he M'MS eager to help in
63 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
assisting students to carry out research activities in various
directions.
Thus it is that many students of the University have been
inspired by Mr. Brown's sympathetic and co-operative teach-
ing.
In the years of his "active leisure," we of the Depart HUM it
of Art Education wish him the richest rewards for a career so
distinguished and so closely associated with the history and
culture of Wisconsin.
WILLIAM H. VARNUM,
Chairman, Dept. of Art Education
University of Wisconsin
* * * *
It is with regret that I join the many friends of Dr. Charles
E. Brown as he terminates his long and successful career as
the curator of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. I am glad,
however, that the Society is taking this opportunity of show-
ing their appreciation of his untiring efforts to advance our
knowledge of the past in the Badger State.
The preservation of the landmarks that were created in
Wisconsin by the aborigines is indeed a worthwhile story.
No one has been more assiduous in this regard than Dr. Brown.
While officially he may now find it advisable to yield these
official responsibilities to others, it is certain that his interest
in the archeology and early history of our state will continue
to dominate his future efforts. We hope he may be able to
continue his labors in this field for many years.
H. L. RUSSELL,
Wis. Alumni Research Foundation
University of Wisconsin
* * * #
Charlie Brown and I came to Madison about the same time,
and took to each other forthwith. Many the field days we
had together when- so long ago I was \\','ll and free to roam
stream, dale, and woodland behind his confident loping. . .
looking for mushrooms or Indian mounds. When T eam <; here,
Acknowledgements 54
the Museum was a combination of Old Curiosity Shop and
Junk Pile. He performed thru years of patient intelligence
the task of transforming and expanding it into an organized
institution, illustrative primarily of the History of Wisconsin
Civilization, from the Indian settlements on down. It was a
phase of my education to watch his work and his workman-
ship.
WILLIAM ELLERY LEONARD,
University of Wisconsin
Brown, Charles Edward, Director, State Historical Museum ;
Lecturer in Art Education. Thus reads the University di-
rectory, but Charles Brown means more than that to his as-
sociates. Field work and friendships appear to be the best
things of life for him. He is a mine of information regarding
the archeology of the State and is always willing to share his
knowledge. University students and the public have enjoy-
ed his talks in the classroom, on hikes, and around the camp
fire. Now that he is to have more leisure for writing, it is
hoped that he will make his knowledge available for future
generations by publication.
E. F. BEAN,
Wisconsin State Geologist
Long an admirer of Charles E. Brown and his irrepressible
enthusiasms, of so much service to Wisconsin, it is truly a
pleasure to have the opportunity to say a few words on this
occasion.
Our acquaintance began in Milwaukee a good many years
ago. This was when he was connected with the Milwaukee
Public Museum when it was under Henry Nehrling's guidance,
and f was a Milwaukee Sentinel reporter, with a reporter's
nose for news. I found him not only helpful but companion-
able, and our friendship has never waned through the years,
years that must now be counted up close to the half century
mark.
65 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
His subsequent career, his building up of the State His-
torical Museum and smaller museums and the life he put into
the Archeological Society with continued inspiration to oth-
ers, cannot be forgotten. We of the Milwaukee County His-
torical Society are proud indeed to count him as one of our
members.
FREDERIC HEATH
*.*.**
Dr. Charles E. Brown, Director of the Wisconsin State His-
torical Museum, has served museums long and well and leaves
a hi sting record, through his practical works, of his high pur-
poses and skill in his chosen field. In every part of the
country and abroad there are friends and colleagues of Dr.
Brown who will be sorry to hear that he ?s leaving active du-
ties, but who will be glad that they have been associated with
him.
LAURENCE VAIL COLEMAN,
Director, American Association
of Museums
* * * #
Charles E. Brown is widely known and respected not only
for his accomplishments in a varied field of professional ac-
tivities, but for his- .warmth of personality and his sterling
character as well. This admirable combination of <|iialitics
has won for him innumerable friends among his professional
contemporaries and from the lay public of his native ^tate. to
whom he has contributed so freely of his time and energies.
When one pauses to consider that he began his professional
career 'way back in 1898, it becomes readily apparent that he
is a likely candidate for the title "Grand Old Man" of Mid-
western archeology and muscology; and -.'Iris writer rises to
nominate him for that honor 1
Museum director, college teacher, areheologist and, together
with Dorothy M. Brown, outstanding authority on Wisconsin
Folklore well, what an enviable career!
Charlie, as his friends know him, now will find time, I'ol-
Acknowledgements 66
lowing his retirement from active service, to do many nice
things which he's always wanted to do. His friends will be
wishing him many additional happy years; and we hope often
to hear his stentorian voice at future meetings of the Midwest
Museums Conference. Happy landings, Charlie!
H. C. SHETRONE,
Director, Ohio State Museum
In March 1922, it was my pleasure and good fortune to
make the personal acquaintance of Charles E. Brown. At the
suggestion of Superintendent Benj. F. Shambaugh, I was mak-
ing my first trip for the state Historical Society of Iowa, the
purpose being to make the acquaintance of workers in the
upper Mississippi Valley archeological field at Madison, Mil-
waukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, and Columbus to learn some-
thing of their methods and to profit by their experience and
advice.
The conference in Mr. Brown's inner office was deliberate,
detailed, and highly profitable. I left Madison not only richer
by the friendship and counsel of a wise and kindly gentleman,
but with literature in my possession that was to contribute to
my equipment through the years circulars that had been dis-
tributed widely in Wisconsin, to members of the Wisconsin
Archeological Society and others, and a large bundle of all the
available volumes of the Wisconsin Archeologist. Naturally
I lost no time in becoming a life member of the Wisconsin
Archeological Society.
In subsequent years I met Mr. Brown frequently at the
various professional meetings, memories of which I am now
happy to recall. Also, of course, there were the quarterly
contacts through the regular visits of the Wisconsin Archeol-
ogist. Or again, my first information concerning some Iowa
collector of archeological materials, who was known to some
member of the Wisconsin Society, or who had visited Madison
and introduced himself to the Chief of the Wisconsin State
Historical Museum, sometimes reached me in a personal letter
from Mr. Brown.
67 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
No claim is made, of course, to anything like a complete
knowledge or understanding of Mr. Brown's activities in the
Wisconsin archeological field, though it may be of some in-
terest to set down here two impressions that an acquaintance
of twenty-two years possesses concerning a neighbor in an
adjoining state. The first is that of a careful and systematic
student of the types and distribution of the Wisconsin arti-
facts, as revealed in a long succession of articles in the Wis-
consin Archeologist. The second, and even deeper impres-
sion is that of a conservationist in the more difficult field of
preservation of the mounds and other aicheological sites.
Success here calls for special talents, involving deep human
insight and tactful human approach and leadership. The fre-
quent published accounts of the dedication of a mound group
a in I marker in this place, or a park containing antiquities in
another place, apparently show a civic interest in Wisconsin
that is rare, and perhaps unequalled elsewhere. This interest.
while possibly descended, in part, from the days of Tnc-ivase
1 apliaui, traces largely, it is certain, to the devotion and
ability of Charles E. Brown. To him and to the State of
Wisconsin congratulations are due.
CHARLES R. KEYES,
Director, Iowa Archeological Survey,
Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa
# # # *
As I think back over my years of acquaintance with Dr.
Brown, it seems to me that his outstanding characteristic was
his kindly and friendly interest in everyone. He made one
feel as if the things that the individual was doing were of
vital interest to Mr. Brown personally. The various tyro in
the museum field was inspired by Mr. Brown's expressed in-
terest, and led to persevere. The master was teaching his
student, but in a way that made the latter feel he had a com-
panion in his work.
His guidance has been an inspiration to me throughout the
years and I am glad to express my appreciation in this humble
fashion.
WILLOUGHBY M. BABCOCK,
Minnesota Historical Society
Acknowledgements 68
I am honored in being allowed to join with you in paying
tribute to "Charlie" Brown. My contacts with him at the
meetings of the American Anthropological Association, and
as a. member of the Archeological Surveys Committee, were
most pleasant. His ever-present courteous personality made
him remembered when an occasion was past. No reference
in twenty-five years to Wisconsin has ever been made that I
did not think of Dr. Brown. The Mid-Westerners from
around Chicago were always gracious to me from the deep
South, in their hospitable treatment. My visits were always
made memorable by Dr. Brown.
PETER A. BRANNON,
Department of Archives and History
Montgomery, Alabama
The invitation that the Wisconsin Archeologist is extending
to Dr. Wilbert B. Hinsdale to share in the pleasure of paying
tribute to Charles Edward Brown, as he retires from the post
of Director of the Wisconsin State Historical Museum, is very
keenly appreciated. Since Dr. Hinsdale, who is now nearing
his ninety-third birthday, has laid down his correspondence,
except to give it a general direction, it is with much satisfac-
tion that I, as one of his nieces, convey his message.
Dr. Hinsdale 's long acquaintance with Mr. Brown, in whose
home he has been a guest, has been much enjoyed; and to per-
sonal regard has been added high professional esteem. Cor-
respondence with him has been at all times profitable, and was
especially helpful in the preparation of my uncle's "Archae-
ological Atlas of Michigan." Cordial best wishes for pleas-
ant and profitable years in retirement are extended.
Dr. HiiHdale is sharing your invitation with Dr. Emerson P.
Oeenman, who has taken over his work at the University of
Michigan Museum of Anthropology.
MILDRED HINSDALE,
Ann Arbor, Michigan
69 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
I think nothing can be more appropriate for the Wisconsin
Archeologist than to have a number devoted to the work of
Charlie Brown. He has left his name and his work all over
the place, so that one can't think of the past of the state with-
out thinking of the many interesting things that he has un-
covered and explored. I am not thinking alone of his know-
ledge of the old Indian traditions and stories and their mem-
orials in the mounds and remains in Indian villages, nor of the
past history of the state after the first settlers began to come.
It is the little anecdotes that lend life to the old records.
Somehow Munyan in my mind carries the pipe at the aggres-
sive angle that Charlie so admirably imitates. I shall never
forget his story of a half-dozen hermits whose chief pastime
was to make collections of incredibly useless things. I am
thinking of his stories of individual Indians whom he button-
holed, if Indians have buttonholes, and persuaded to stand and
deliver the Indian lore. Some of this should be collected in-
to a volume, and there is nobody better qualified to do it than
Brown himself.
The amount of material that has been gathered in the
archeological museum how much of it owes itself originally
to his search! The story of this should also be told before
the account of it is lost. Wisconsin has had a peculiarly in-
teresting place in the history of the country, a place that the
historian has had to pass over rapidly and in a few sentences.
Much of it is available but in scattered fragments. It is
splendid that our archeological journal is working to preserve
and hand it on. To devote a number of it to recount what Mr.
lirown has done is a most appropriate and timely enterprise.
PHILO BUCK,
Chairman, Department of
Comparative Literature
University of Wisconsin
I have known Charles E. P>rown since 1!)11 when the Wis-
consin Archeological Society met at Prairie du Chien in
order to erect a marker on the chain of Indian mounds in
what is now Wyalnsing State Park. At that time the prop-
Acknowledgements 70
erty belonged to the Glenn family. It comprised about 1700
acres and the virgin timber was still covering the most of it.
We took a boat from Prairie du Chien to a slough where the
boat got stalled and we walked from there to the grounds.
Twenty-five years later there was a special dinner and cel-
ebration at which I had the honor to be the principal speaker.
On that occasion it was my privilege to entertain Mr. Brown;
he kept us up nearly all night telling stories. He never miss-
ed his sleep as long as there was entertainment. I had been
entertained at Mr. Brown's home at a smoker some time be-
fore.
His letters have been an inspiration to me, and his warm
friendship I shall always cherish.
His two striking characteristics are : first, that he is a good
story teller and is versed in Indian lore ; and second, that he is
an enthusiast and has continued to be during all the years.
No society can exist and have a healthy growth unless the
principal officers have enthusiasm. He has been a loyal
friend not only to individuals but to his life work, and he will
be missed when he leaves his office.
P. L. SCANLON,
Wood, Wisconsin
We'll miss him when he leaves his desk up there on the
fourth floor of the State Historical Museum. Thousands of us
will miss Charlie Brown.
It must be forty years since I first saw him. I was just a
kid, at that time the youngest member of the Wisconsin
Archeological Society. H. L. Skavlem, the Sage of Kosh-
konong, took me to Beloit where Charlie Brown was going to
speak at a little Norwegian Church. How thrilled I was!
I listened with my mouth open as Mr. Brown told about find-
ing Indian relics and told us what to do with them.
Since that day I've heard Charles E. Brown speak to all
kinds of audiences. Big or little, scientific or dilettante, old
71 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
or young, he was always glad to tell them something interest-
ing about Wisconsin. If there is anyone in Wisconsin who
doesn't know Charlie Brown that person hasn't much interest
in history, archeology, or conservation.
For nearly half a century Wisconsin amateurs and profes-
sionals have been calling on Charlie Brown whenever they
have found anything unusual in the ground or in the attic.
Always he has guided them to the proper disposition of their
find.
Sometimes I wonder how he could meet the hundreds and
thousands of people he did and keep them all in good humor.
Perhaps because of his friendly interest in people. Perhaps
because he is simply a kindly gentleman.
His friends are legion, but whether millionaire or barefoot
boy Charlie Brown has made them all feel the importance of
their contribution to the history, archeology, or conservation
of Wisconsin. He has welcomed them with a friendly smile
and bowed them to the elevator with the grace of a (Chester-
field. But more than any other one man Charles E. Brown
lias lifted the amateur from collector vandal to contributing
scientist.
We'll miss Charlie Brown from his desk but we'll continue
to ask his friendly advice about our discoveries.
ALONZO W. POND,
Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin
* # * *
In my opinion, Charlie Brown has done more to make Wis-
consin conscious of its Historical Museum and the treasures
stored there than any other individual within our boundaries.
I say that with no suggestion of reflection upon anyone else,
and I am sure his associates would be the first to agree. lie
has always been possessed of a singular devotion to every
aspect of his field, and he has communicated that devotion
with Jn enthusiasm that has no parallel. Tn a very mvat
sense, Charlie Brown HAS BEEN the Museum.
AUGUST DERLETH,
Sauk City, Wisconsin
Acknowledgements 72
Perhaps I am only one of several hundred museum directors
and archeologists in the state who feel a sense of personal loss
in the withdrawal of Mr. C. E. Brown from the directorship of
the State Historical Museum. Long before I became acquaint-
ed with Mr. Brown I heard of his great work in the field of
archeology, a work that has probably never been surpassed in
the state when measured by his accomplishments in preserv-
ing for Wisconsin valuable records of our native race, and in
the promotion of museum work. Not only has he gained
fame but also friends along the way. Struggling beginners
in museum and archeological work have found in him an un-
failing friend and helper, which has been a real inspiration to
take up the work and make a success of it.
It is most hard for us to let him get away from his post at
the State Historical Museum at Madison. Not many public
servants can leave as fine a record of work well done as our
friend "Charlie" Brown. May the rest of his years be full of
happiness and success as he so richly deserves.
ZIDA C. IVEY,
Director, Dwight Foster
Historical Museum
NEW MEMBERS
Life
Dr. Rachel Salisbury, Milton College, Milton.
Annual
S. A. Bright, Prairie du Chien; Leslie C. Cook, Chicago; K. L.
Hatch, Madison; Sidney Klemann, Beaver Dam; Wm. A. Langer,
2804-N. Emery Ave., Milwaukee; Elizabeth Lewis, 3535 N. Mary-
land Ave., Milwaukee; James E. Lundsted, Oshkosh; Richard W.
Mills, Fond du Lac; Walter Mode, Ft. Atkinson; Janet Ringeisen,
3853 N. 4 Street, Milwaukee; Gisella Steiner, 3540 N. Maryland;
Rev. Ben Stucki, Neillsville; T. R. Wieseman, 3143 S. 31 Street,
Milwaukee; and Roman Wilms, 1635 W. Scott Street, Milwaukee.
Institutional
University of California Library, Berkley.
Davenport Museum, Davenport, Iowa.
Northwestern Lutheran College, Watertown.
Philadelphia Free Library.
73 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 2
CHERT FLAKINGS
The MARCH MEETING at the new Conference Room in the Li-
brary section was attended by 65 persons who heard Charles Brown
give an interesting talk on Sacred Trailside Shrines of the Indians.
We hope to publish this talk in a later issue. At the Advisory
Committee meeting Chairman Wynn of the Special Publications
Committee reported. The accepted report recommended elim-
ination of the special Junior membership dues setup. Mr. Wynn
also reported on the erosion at the Dewey Mounds in Waukesha
county. The Nominations Committee recommendation to have the
incumbents hold over was approved at the regular meeting. The
Auditing Committee report was received and accepted. Mr. Ring-
eisen reported for the Fraudulent Committee.
The APRIL MEETING was attended by 45 persons who heard
Joe Ringeisen, Jr. lead an excellent discussion on Birdstone Clas-
sification and Fluted Axes. At the Advisory meeting action was
approved asking the State Planning Board to initiate a study of
the Black Hawk Trail Retreat through Wisconsin. Action was
taken approving the printing of 25 extra copies of the March
Archeologist to be given to the subscribers of the Monona Mound.
Approval was given for the Anniversary Banquet to be held in
June at Jacobus Park Clubhouse. The secretary reported on the
Galesville mounds destruction matter.
The MAY MEETING was attended by 50 persons who heard
Charles Schoewe give a narrative account of the Milford Fish
Trap Dam. Dr. Buttles spoke on Decorative Uses of Shells. Pres.
Kannenberg gave an interesting report on new discoveries con-
cerning his research in the Custer battle. At the Advisory meet-
ing G. K. Whaley and Arthur Quan were elected to the Advisory
committee. Ralph Buckstaff of Oshkosh donated ten dollars
towards the Brown Appreciation Issue.
SUBSCRIBERS TO THE TRIBUTE EDITION
Dr. R. G. Arveson, Frederic; Otto G. Beich, Bloomington, 111.;
Charles Binney, Chicago; Charles E. Broughton, Sheboygan; Ralph
N. Buchstaff, Oshkosh; Prof. W. W. Charters, Columbia, Mo.; E.
Stratton Colbo, Racine; Leslie R. Cooke, Chicago; Alfred Furseth,
Stoughton; Vernon Goldsworthy, Wisconsin Rapids; Mrs. Dorothy
Kundert, Monroe; Otto L. Olin, Clintonville; Robert K. Richard-
son, Beloit; H. A. Smythe, Madison; W. A. Toole, Baraboo; Howard
J. Underbill, Superior; Leo J. Weissenborn, Chicago; Woodrow
Williams, Clintonville.
Printed in the Shadow of Old Altaian by The I fader. Lake Mills
-
DR. BROWN AND CHIEF YELLOW THUNDER - 1940
Chief Yellow Thunder is a grandson of the
noted Winnebago War Chief, Yellow Thunder,
Wakonzagah, 1832.
MR. AND MRS.
CHARLES BROWN
AT HOME
JUNE 1944
COMMITTEES
Regular
STATE SURVEY Wm. K. Andrew, Kermit Freckman, Robert R.
Jones, Frank M. Neu, Harold Bullock, M. F. Hulbert, W. E.
Erdman, Dr. P. H. Nesbitt, Charles E. Brown, Erwin Burg,
George L. Pasco.
MOUND PRESERVATION Louis Pierron, Towne L. Miller, H. O.
Zander, C. A. Koubeck, Arthur W. Quan, Paul Scholz, Vetal
Winn, Dr. O. W. Ebert, Ray Owen.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS R. N. Buckstaff, N. J. Behnke, Frederic
Heath, Gerald C. Stowe, Zida C. Ivey, Rev. F. S. Dayton, Mark
H. Knight, N. W. Roeder, Jens Jacobson, Rev. Peter O. John-
son, Charles E. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE G. M. Thorne, Dr. H. W. Kuhm,
Dr. L. S. Buttles, Dr. A. L. Kastner, Mrs. Theodore Koerner,
Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich,
M. G. Schmidt, J. K. Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS C. L. Harrington, Walter
Holsten, Mrs. Robert E. Friend, Robert Hartman, H. G. Rueping.
PUBLICITY Mrs. Wm. K. Andrew, H. J. Kent, Mrs. Theo. Koer-
ner, Albert Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlon, Dorothy M. Brown.
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Charles G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell,
W. C. McKern.
Special
PUBLICATIONS Walter Bubbert, A. E. Koerner, G. M. Thorne,
W. C. McKern, Dr. H. W. Kuhm.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Fred Scholz, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hoefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Mary Vandenburgh,
Richard W. Moore, Robert Hartman.
Permanent Standing
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A. Bar-
rett, Charles G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
CODIFYING THE TYPES OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES IN WIS-
CONSIN W. C. McKern, Kermit Freckman, Erwin Burg.
THE WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
Page
GEOLOGICAL KEY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF
INDIAN ARTIFACTS, Elmer Nelson, Robt. Ritzenthaler 76
GEOLOGY OF ARTIFACTS W. H. Schoewe 89
DISCOVERY OF AN INDIAN ROCK SHELTER
IN BROWN COUNTY Hall, Linck ft Wittry 90
ANCIENT WINNEBAGO USE OF BIRDS
AS FOOD A. P- Kannenberg 95
BLACK HAWK TRAIL STUDY ASKED, Walter Bubbert 96
THE PIPE OF PEACE CEREMONY
PASSES Charles E. Brown 97
MUSEUM EXHIBITS Esther Hemingway 98
MUSEUM REACTION Milw. Public Museum Record 103
CHARLES E. BROWN: CONTINUATION
Clark Wissler * 0. G. Libby * Geo. R. Fox 104
HAVE. . . . YOU. . . . READ Editor 107
CHERT FLAKINGS . . Secretary 109
70L. 25 NO. 3 SEPTEMBER, 1944
New Series)
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Incorporated 1903
For the purpose of advancing the study and preservation of
Wisconsin Indian Antiquities.
Meets every third Monday of the month at the Milwaukee Public
Museum Conference Room. (Except during July and August.)
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Arthur P. Kannenberg, Oshkosh Public Museum
VICE-PRESIDENTS
W. K. Andrew A. K. Fisher Louis Pierron
Kermit Freckman
Robert B. Hartman
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
DIRECTORS
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Charles E. Brown
(Madison)
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
(Oshkosh)
Erwin G. Burg
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
(New London)
W. E. Erdman
(Horicon)
John G. Gregory
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
(Reedsburg)
Zida C. Ivey
(Ft. Atkinson)
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
(Wild Rose)
Dr. A. L. Kastner
J. J. Knudsen
(Atlanta, Ga.)
A. E. Koerner
Vetal Winn
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
Lauren F. Meyers
W. C. McKern
T. L. Miller
Arthur W. Quan
(Madison)
Robert Ritzenthaler
Charles G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
G. K. Whaley
G. R. Zilisch
(Hustisford)
TREASURER: G. M. Thorne, 1433 N. 37th Street, Milwaukee 8, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR: Walter Bubbert
Room 2, County Surveyor's Office, Court House, Milwaukee 3, Wis.
Residence: 1516 N. 37th Street, Milwaukee 8, Wis.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
The Wisconsin Archeologisi is distributed to members
as part of their dues.
Life Members, $25.00
Sustaining Members, $5.00
Institutional Members, $1.50
Endowment Members, $500.00
Annual Members, $2.00
Junior Members, 50tf
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Archeological
Society and contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be
addressed to Walter Bubbert, Court House, Milwaukee 3, Wiscon-
Send dues to G. M. Thorne. Treasurer, 1433 N. 37th Street,
sin.
Milwaukee 8, Wisconsin. Entered as Second Class Matter at the
P. O. at Milwaukee, W:. Act of Aug. 21. 1912.
THE WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 25 No. 3
MILWAUKEE, WIS., SEPTEMBER, 1944
New Series
GUIDE TO THE ROCKS AND MINERALS USED BY
PREHISTORIC INDIANS IN THE WISCONSIN AREA
Robert Ritzenthaler, Dept. of Anthropology,
and
Elmer R. Nelson, Dept. of Geology,
Milwaukee Public Museum
INTRODUCTION
This guide is designed for the purpose of helping the
amateur archaeologist identify the materials from which the
stone artifacts in his collection were made. After an exam-
ination of the Wisconsin archaeological collections in the Mil-
waukee Public Museum we selected 25 rocks and minerals
which seem to have been the most commonly used by the pre-
historic Indians in this area for the making of their imple-
ments. Some of these do not naturally occur in this area, but
were brought in through trade either in a natural state or al-
ready fashioned into implements. Conceivably, also, some of
it was brought here by parties sent out specifically for the pur-
pose of securing certain prized materials. Thus, through
trade or expedition, we find here such materials as obsidian,
the nearest source of which is the Yellowstone National Park,
Wyoming; catlmite from the pipestone quarries in western
Minnesota ; and steatite from the Appalachian area.
For purposes of simplicity we have limited our selection to
only the most important materials used, so this guide will not
cover all the artifacts in your collection. Furthermore, it is
not foolproof, due primarily to the fact that some materials
gradate into others and distinction can only be drawn by a
professional mineralogist. However, if this guide helps you
to identify the majority of your artifacts as to material, we
feel its purpose will have been fulfilled.
77 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
TESTING KIT FOR ROCKS AND MINERALS
There are three simple tests for your material:
The hardness test,
The streak test,
The chemical reaction test.
1. HARDNESS TEST
All minerals and some rocks have a definite hardness whirl 1
is an important aid in identification. Hardness is the ability
of one material to scratch another. Ten minerals, known as
Moh's Scale, have been selected as the standard against which
all others are tested. They are:
1. Talc 6. Othoclase
2. Gypsum 7. Quartz
3. Calcite 8. Topa/
4. Fluorite 9. Corundum
5. Apatite 10. Diamond
This scale (first 9) may be purchased from Central Scientific
Company, 1700 Irving Park Blvd., Chicago, Illinois, for $1.80
In testing with this scale, a material which will scratch
gypsum, but can be scratched by calcite has a hardness be-
tween 2 and 3.
Or, a simple hardness scale is as follows :
1 and 2 can be scratched with the fingernail.
3, but not 4, can be scratched by penny, nickel, dime (us.t
coins minted before 1942).
6, but not 7, can be scratched by point of a pocket knife.
Glass can be scratched by 7.
8 cannot be scratched by quartz.
2. STREAK TEST (for hematite)
Rub corner of material across a streak plate of unglaxe I
porcelain. Note color left on plate. If a reddish-brown, the
material is hematite. Streak plates may be purchased at th< j
Ward Scientific Establ., Rochester, N. Y. for 50 cents a do/en.
(Note: A piece of chert may be substituted for the porcelain.)
3. ACID TEST (for limestone)
Put a drop of hydrochloric acid (10% solution) on specimen.
If it bubbles vigoriously. it is lime-tone. Hydrochloric acid
can be purchased at any drujr store for about 1."> cents an
Guide to Rocks 78
ounce. One ounce is plenty for your purposes. Keep acid
in bottle with glass stopper. It is not dangerous, but if spilled
on clothing or skin it should be washed off with water im-
mediately.
4. A simple way of determining clay, slate or shale is to mois-
ten or breathe on the material. When so treated they will
smell like damp earth.
OUTLINE OF KEY SYSTEM
CONCHOIDAL FRACTURE
A. Translucent
1. Dark in color
a. Texture or luster
(1.) glassy: obsidian
(2.) waxy: chalcedony
(3.) sugary: quartzite
2. Light in color
a. Texture or luster
(1.) glassy: quartz
(2.) waxy : chalcedony
(3.) sugary: quartzite
B. Opaque
1. Dark in color
a. Texture or luster
(1.) glassy: obsidian
(2.) waxy: chert
2. Light in color: chert
SUB-CONCHOIDAL FRACTURE (Scaled)
A. Translucent: quartzite
B. Opaque
1. Dark in color: hematite, basalt, slate
2. Light in color: shale, felsite
PECKED, PECKED AND POLISHED, OR SCULPTORED
A. Fine-grained (high polish, reflects light)
1. Dark in color
a. Black or brown : hematite, basalt, dior-
ite, slate, steatite
b. Gray: slate, basalt, diorite
79 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
c. Green : diorite, greenstone, steatite,
slate
d. Red : catlinite, hematite
2. Light in color: limestone, talc
B. Coarse-grained (will not take high polish)
1. Dark in color
a. Black to brown: gabbro. sandstone.
porphyry
b. Gray : diorite, porphyry, gneiss, gran-
ite, sandstone
c. Red: sandstone, granite
2. Light in color
a. White to buff: sandstone
b. Gray : granite, porphyry, sandstone
KEY TO THE ROCKS AND MINERALS USED BY THE
PREHISTORIC INDIANS IN THE WISCONSIN AREA
ARTIFACTS SHAPED BY CHIPPING OR SCALING ... 1
ARTIFACTS SHAPED BY PECKING, PECKING &
POLISHING (as in celt), OR SCULPTORED (as in
a pipe) 22
1. Note chipping: If conchoidal (shell-shaped, as in most
arrow-heads) '2
If scaled (crude fracture, as in many
turtle-back scrapers) ... 17
2. Hold artifact up to light : If light shows thru body
or edges (translucent) .... 3
If no light shows thru
(opaque) 12
3. Note color : If dark 4
If light S
4. Note surface : If glassy 5
If waxy 6
If sugary 7
5. Material is obsidian (usually black, rarely brown).
6. Material is chalcedony (usually deep brown with white
flacks).
7. Material is <|uart/ite.
Guide to Rocks 80
8. Note surface : If glassy 9
If waxy 10
If sugary 11
9. Material is quartz (usually clear white or milky Avhite.
Never banded).
10. Material is chalcedony (usually milky white with bluish
tinge. May be banded. Not very common in this area).
11. Material is quartzite.
12. Note color : If dark 13
If light 16
13. Note surface : If glassy 14
If waxy 15
14. Material is obsidian (opaque obsidians are not common in
this area).
15. Material is chert (the term "flint" is used by anthropol-
ogists to describe this material). Slate-blue cherts are common-
ly called hornstone.
16. Material is chert (see above).
17. Hold artifact up to light: If light shows thru 18
If no light shows thru .... 19
18. Material is quartzite (sugary appearance).
19. Note color : If dark 20
If light 21
20. Apply streak test : If a reddish-brown streak is left on
plate, the material is hematite.
If no streak is left on plate, the material is either
slate, if it can be scratched with a nickel, or basalt
if it cannot be.
21. Apply hardness te*t : If material can be scratched with
fingernail, it is shale.
If material cannot be scratched by a penny, it is-
felsite.
22. Note surface : If material takes a high polish and will
reflect light 23
If dull, coarse-grained, and does not
reflect light 32
23. Note color : If dark 24
If light 31
24. Note color : If black or brown 25
If gray ' . 28
81 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
If green 29
If red 30
25. Apply hardness test : If material can be scratched by
a nickel 26
If not 27
26. Material is either : steatite, if it has a soapy feel and is
easily scratched by a penny (nev-
er banded).
or slate, if it smells like damp earth
when moistened and is hard to
scratch with a penny. Slate fre-
quently shows banding.
27. Apply streak test : If reddish-brown streak is left on
plate, material is hematite.
If not, material is either basalt or
or diorite (rather Difficult to
distinguish between). Crystall-
ization is apparent in diorite.
but not in basalt.
28. Apply hardness test: If material can be scratched by
a nickel, the material is slate
(often banded, and smells
like damp earth when breath-
ed on).
If not, the material is basalt or
diorite (crystallization is ap-
parent in diorite).
29. Apply hardness test: If material can be scratched
by a nickel 26
If not, material h either: dior-
ite, if crystals are visible; or
greenstone, if no crystals
are visible
30. Apply hardness test: If material can be scratched
with a nickel it is catlinite.
If not, material is hematite
(check by streak test).
31. Apply hardness test: It' material can be scratched
with fin.irermiil, it is talc.
Guide to Rocks 82
If not, it is limestone (check
with hydrochloric acid test).
32. Note color : If dark 33
If light 37
33. Note color : If black to brown 34
If gray 35
If red 36
34. Note surface : Material is either
sandstone, if it has a sandy texture ; or
porphyry, if it has phenocrysts (large
crystals which look like large
"freckles" in the material) ; or
gabbro, if it has dark, coarse crystals.
35. Material is either :
sandstone, if it has a sandy texture.
porphyry, if it has phenocrysts (large
crystals which look like large
"freckles" in the material).
gneiss, if it has coarsely banded struc-
ture.
granite, if it has a salt and pepper
look.
gabbro, if it has dark, coarse crystals.
36. Material is either:
sandstone, if it has a sandy texture.
granite, usually contains pink feld-
spar and quartz with tiny black
micaceous specks.
37. Note color : If it is white to buff 38
If it is gray 39
38. Material is sandstone.
39. Material is either: granite or porphyry see 35
CHECK ALL RESULTS WITH CHART
CHART OF THE IMPORTANT ROCKS AND MINERALS
USED BY PREHISTORIC INDIANS IN THE WISCONSIN
AREA
ROCKS Aggregate of one or more minerals which is
a part of the earth's crust.
83 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
1. IGNEOUS rocks which have resulted from the solidifica-
tion of molten rock matter.
A. Extrusives (Volcanics) Molten rock which comes to
the earth's surface and cools
in the air.
Basalt
Average hardness 6-7*
Color: Dark gray, brown, dark green, black;
may have buff outer surface.
Characteristics : Few or no phenocrysts ; fine-
grained.
Source: Northern Wisconsin and Michigan;
also in glacial drift.
Obsidian
Average hardness 5.
Color: Black, red, brown, greenish.
Characteristics: Glassy or vitreous; conchoidal
fracture.
Source: Yellowstone National Park and other
Rocky Mountain areas.
Felsite
Average hardness 6-7.
Color: White, gray, buff, pink, greenish.
Characteristics: Earthy luster; rough frac-
ture; few or no phenocrysis.
Source: Northern Michigan; also may be
found in glacial drift.
1>. Intrusives Molten rock which wells up into the
earth's crust but which cools and solidi-
fies beneath the surface.
Diorite
Average hardness 6-7.
Color: Dark gray.
Characteristics: Thief mineral is hornblende
with feldspar mica, and py-
roxene.
Source: Northern Wisconsin and Michigan;
also in glacial drift.
Guide to Rocks S4
Gabbro
Color: Dark gray to black.
Characteristics : Medium to coarse-grained ;
chief mineral is pyroxene with
feldspar, olivine, hornblende
and mica.
Source : Northern Wisconsin and Michigan ;
also in glacial drift.
Granite
Color: Light to dark gray; pink to dark red.
Characteristics: Medium to coarse-grained;
chief minerals are feldspar
and quartz with mica, horn-
blende or pyroxene.
Source : Northern Wisconsin and Michigan ;
also in glacial drift.
Porphyry
Any rock in which crystals of one mineral are
of much greater size than the others and
in which the other minerals form a com-
pact groundmass. The larger crystals are
known as phenocrysts. Most of the above
igneous rocks may form porphyries, ie.,
granite porphyry; except obsidian and fel-
site proper.
2. SEDIMENTARY rocks laid down in layers by the action
of water, wind or ice.
A. Clastics those sediments composed of fragments of
other rock materials however large or small.
Sandstone
May bo very soft or very hard.
Color: Variable colors.
Characteristics : Composed of sand grains ce-
mented together by siliceous
or calcareous cement.
Source: Central, western and northern Wis-
consin ; also found in glacial drift.
Shale
Average hardness 1-2.
85 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
Color: Gray, buff, brown, red or black. May
show banding.
Characteristics: Composed of clay fragments-
compacted into layers; smells
like damp earth when mois-
tened or when breathed upon.
Source: Central and western Wisconsin and
northern Wisconsin and Michigan ;
may be found in glacial drift, also.
Fire Clay
Average hardness fairly hard.
Color: Usually gray in color, sometimes red.
Characteristics : Composed of fine clay part-
icles which have been leached
of all solubles and which can
be subjected to high temper-
atures. Smells like damp earth
when moistened or breathed
upon.
Source : Ohio, Indiana, Illinois.
l'>. Preeipitants those sediments composed of rock ma-
terials which have been precipitated
from a solution.
Limestone
Average hardness 3.
Color: Variable, but buff and light gray pre-
dominate.
Characteristics : Composed of calcium carbon-
ate ; may be either fine or
coarse-grained; reacts to di-
lute hydrochloric acid with ef-
fervescence.
Source : Southern, central and eastern Wis-
consin and in glacial drift.
Cave "Onyx"
Average hardness 3.
Color: Variable.
Characteristics: Banded appearance; reacts to
dilute hydrochloric acid with
effervescence.
Guide to Rocks 86
Source : Wisconsin limestone caves.
3. METAMORPHIC Igneous and sedimentary rocks which
have been changed into other types by
heat and pressure within the earth's
crust.
Greenstone
Average hardness 5-6!/2-
Color : Various shades of dull green.
Characteristics: Fine-grained to dense.
Source : Northern Wisconsin and Michigan ; in
glacial drift.
Catlinite
Average hardness 1-3.
Color : Dull, pale to dark red.
Characteristics : Frequently smells like damp
earth when moist; earthy tex-
ture.
Source : Barron and Sawyer counties, Wiscon-
sin and Pipestone, Minn.
Gneiss
Characteristics : Coarsely banded structure,
composed chiefly of dark mi-
ca, pink or white feldspar and
quartz; bands may be trans-
gressed by quartz veins.
Source : Hubbleton, Wis. ; Baraboo range, Wis. ;
Northern Wisconsin and Michigan;
and in glacial drift.
Slate
Average hardness 3-4.
Color: Dull, variable from gray to black and
red to green.
Characteristics: Usually splits into thin lay-
ers; may have slight odor of
damp earth when moist; may
show banding.
Source: Northern Wisconsin and Michigan,
and in glacial drift.
cS7 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
Steatite (Soapstone)
Average hardness 1-3.
Color: Variable, usually light.
Characteristics: Smooth, soapy feel; usually
dense.
Source : Appalachian area.
MINERALS Chemical compounds which occur naturally and
have a constant composition and crystalline
structure.
1. rOMPOUNDS (rock forming minerals.) Minerals com-
posed of more than one element.
A. Oxides Minerals in^which oxygen combines with an-
other element.
Quartz
Average hardness 7.
Color: Colorless to white. Varies.
Characteristics: May be crystalline or massive:
conchoidal fracture ; glassy
texture; brittle; transparent
to translucent.
Source : Northern Wisconsin and Michigan,
and in glacial drift.
Chalcedony
Average hardness 7.
Color: White to gray, with a bluish cast; may
be brown or red.
Characteristics: Conchoidal fracture; waxy
luster; translucent; in various
massive forms linings in cav-
ities, concretions, etc.
Source: Northern Michigan, Iowa, South Da-
kota; also in glacial drifts.
Chert or Flint
Average hardness 7.
Color: Vary from white to black, brown to
buff or red.
Characteristics: Earthy to sub translucent ;
conchoidal fracture: in con-
cretions.
Guide to Rocks 88
Source : South, central and eastern Wiscon-
sin, and in glacial drift.
Hematite
Average hardness 5%-6V2
Color : Dark or vermillion red to black.
Characteristics: Metallic luster; heavy; yields
red to reddish-black streak on
unglazed porcelain plate.
Source : Northern Wisconsin and Michigan,
and in glacial drift.
B. Silicates Minerals in which silica (SiO2) is a com-
ponent part.
Talc
Average hardness 1.
Color: Varies, but white, yellow, buff and
green predominate.
Characteristics: Usually foliated and flaky;
greasy feel.
Source : Northern Wisconsin and Michigan.
2. NATIVE ELEMENTS Minerals composed of a single
element.
Copper
Average hardness 2!/2-3.
Color : Copper red, sometimes coated with
green.
Characteristics: Heavy, malleable; metallic
luster.
Source: Northern Michigan and in glacial
drift.
Silver
Average hardness 2V2-3.
Color: Silver-gray, sometimes tarnished black.
Characteristics: Heavy, malleable, metallic
luster.
Source : Northern Michigan and' in glacial
drift.
89 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
GEOLOGY OF ARTIFACTS
W. H. Schoewe, State Geological Survey of Kansas,
University of Kansas
(Editor's Note: This is an example of a news story called "'Kan-
sasurveys" released May 27, 1944, by the University of Kansas
News Bureau for Kansas weekly newspapers.)
An examination of arrowheads, knives, blades, scrapers.
hammerstones, stone axes, tomahawks, cells, and other arti-
facts made by Indians reveals flint many types of materials
were used in their manufacture. In most cases native rocks
were used. Some matt-rials, such as obsidian and pipestone
or catlinite, were secured from outside the state by trade or by
making- special pilgrimages for them.
One of the most common materials employed by the abor-
igines in making their tools, especially arrowheads, knives,
spear points, and scrapers, was chert or flint. Flint or chert
is a fine-grained, dense variety of quartz. Flint is usually
dark in color, whereas chert is lighter colored and commonly
jzrav to white. Moth Mint and chert are harder than steel and
are easily flaked or chipped, a property essential to the shap-
ing of artifacts. Although many of the limestones of eastern
Kansas contain nodules of flint or chert, the Indians undoubt-
edly secured their main supplies from the Flint Hills of cen-
tral Kansas, where numerous beds of these materials occur in
the Permian strata. Many o!' the smaller-sized artifacts, such
as bird-points, .were made of the more beautiful translucent to
transparent varieties of quartz, such as clear quartz, milky
quartz, chalcedony, jasper, and agate, and of the rock, ob-
sidian.
The larger artifacts axes, tomahawks, celts, anvil stones,
and mortars were made chiefly of igneous rocks basalt, do-
lerite, and granite. liasalt is a hard dense black rock; do-
lerite is dark and hard .and is composed of visible black t:>
greenish-black crystals; granite is a light colored crystalline
rock. The denser dark colored igneous rocks were used more
extensively than granite.
Indian pipes were made chiefly of a reddish claystone known
Discovery of Shelter 90
as catlinite which crops out in southwestern Minnesota.
In addition to the rocks and minerals mentioned, the In-
dians of this part of the country used quartzite, gneiss, slate,
novaculite, sandstone, copper, and hematite (iron ore) in mak-
ing their tools.
DISCOVERY OF AN INDIAN ROCK SHELTER
IN BROWN COUNTY
Robert Hall, Robert Linck, Warren Wittry
Of the more interesting reminders of the Indian occupation
of Wisconsin that have come down to us, it is the purpose of
this paper to describe one of an unusual nature, that of the
Gibson rock shelter discovered in Brown County, and pre-
sent an account of its contents, their significance, and its ex-
cavation to date.
The rock shelter is located along what is known as the
Niagara escarpment, a limestone ledge which extends from
Washington Island at the northern tip of the Door County
peninsula down past Lake Winnebago and a distance south.
About nine miles north of the city of Green Bay and on the
eastern shore of Green Bay, where the escarpment is partic-
ularly rugged, there are a number of natural caves, w r hich are
really no more than large crevices or mere "shelters" formed
with the shifting of large masses of rock. It is under one of
t^ese large masses of rock in the Northwest VI of the South-
west 14 of Section 32, R 22 E, T 25 N, on the farm of Lena
Gibson, Town of Scott, that the rock shelter is located.
There are many of these "caves," some no more than a
fcot or two wide; but the Gibson rock shelter is the only one
so far that has been found to have a soil floor of any depth.
The floor, a foot or so deep, consists only of decayed vegetable
matter (leaves, sticks, and humus) along with the limestone
nibble fallen from the ceiling and walls. The height of the
cave just permits standing, and the dimensions are such that
four people may work together only with considerable incon-
veirence. Much recent refuse is strewn over the aboriginal
91 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
materials, and an alcohol lamp and trowel found among the
refuse may offer possible evidence of previous intrusion.
It was at the far end of this rock shelter on July 8, l!)41.
that the writers first noticed human bones and pieces of lime
encrusted pottery. This discovery was more or less surpris-
ing, since no other caves in the region had been known to have
actually had Indian occupancy. Another larger cave in the
neighborhood was supposed to have been the refuge of a party
of Winnebagos fleeing from a massacre in their village at Red
Hanks, a mile to the north; and it was with the purpose in
mind of locating this legendary cave-retreat that the (iibson
rock shelter discovery was accidentally made.
The first excavation work was done by the discovered
themselves, frequently accompanied by Mr. Taylor Hall, father
of one of the discoverers and an amateur archeologist himself.
I ater. Director Earl G. Wright of the Neville Public Museum
of (Jreen I Jay gave his personal aid in the excavation, and soon
the (Jreen \>uy Natural Science Club of the Neville Museum
made the excavation a summer project. In one instance t 'it-
late J. P. Schumacher, who has long been associated with Wis-
consin archeology, came to see the work being done in the
rock shelter. All in all, the greater part of the summers of
1!)41 and 1942 was spent in clearing out limestone rubble and
extending the excavation, which revealed much interesting
material.
Burials
From the number of human jaw bones encountered among
the scatt -red skeletal remains in the rock shelter it is estimat-
ed that there were no less than four burials, three adults and
one infant. The groups of disarticulated bones implie bundle-
reburiaLs, and while animals and other agents have done much
to disturb the original arrangement, the charred condition of
fragments of the skulls and extremities intimates the cre-'iatiou
of bones, aua'n indicative of reburials. Because of the delicate
nature of the infant jaw bone it is possible fiat the inter ner.t
was pre-natal, and it also indicates the improbability that the
burials can be entirely ascribed to a passing hunting or war
party.
Discovery of Shelter 92
Although well preserved from the weather, the skulls of all
the individuals and much of the other skeletal remains were
so eaten by rodents that restoration is nearly impossible. The
edges of most of the cranial bones were gnawed so that very
few suture connections can be made.
In the rear of the shelter a burial was found in close associ-
ation with the fragments of a large earthenware vessel. This
relation may be accidental or the bundled skeleton may have
originally been placed within. Because of the recent dis-
turbance among the remains, a definite conclusion would be
subject to criticism.
Artifacts
The bone material found in shelters of this type is usually
well preserved. Such is the case here, and very fortunately
so, as the excavation of the burials revealed a polished .bone
knife, two polished bone heads, a socketed spear point made
from a deer antler prong, and a square tablet or plaque cut
from the plastron of a large turtle. The apparent lack of
any stone material is partly made up by the presence of sev-
eral chert chips of local material and a round, polished stone
ball.
Originally the bone knife had a tang or shank, but when
found, the tang had been broken off at the base. The most
interesting feature of the knife is a pronounced bevel on either
side, which is common among spears and knives of copper.
The beveled, leaf-shaped blade in copper, slate, or bone is
common to the Northland, and makes such a discovery of
spec'al interest.
Tlie turtle-bone plaque is two and one-eighth inches by two
and one-quarter inches in dimension and of rare occurrence.
On^y one other is known by the writers to have been found in
Wisconsin ; this is nearly an exact duplicate found with a bur-
ial in a mound of the Raisbeck Group, Grant County, and now
in the Milwaukee Public Museum. No special use is known
for these artifacts, but as there are no holes for a thong as in
a jrorgret, the worn edge would suggest use as a scraping tool
of some sort.
93 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
The bone beads found were polished, perforated disks with
a diameter of M> inch. Beads of this nature were not gen-
erally associated with northeastern Wisconsin until the dis-
covery of the shelter.
The bone spear point is 5^4 inches long and made of a
reamed-out antler prong. It was first considered a flaking
tool for flint, but an examination of the surface shows tool
markings all along the outside. This special attention in
fashioning the artifact suggests that it was intended for n use
other than chipping flint. A portion of the base is broken off.
Pottery
Two fairly complete vessels and a collection of potsherds
from five other vessels comprise the aggregate of pottery tak-
en from the rock shelter. Of these the most complete vessel
was found with the burial under an overhanging ledge of lime-
stone in the rear of the shelter. This vessel has a " collared ' r
rim and an estimated diameter of 11 inches. All of the pot-
tery recovered was of the common Lake Michigan variety of
Woodland ware, generally characterized by grit tempering r
cord-roughened surfaces, and conoidal-base form.
Only two of the seven vessels represented had "collared "
rims, the other five having "straight" rims, and two of these
were without decoration of any sort. All the rest bore the
common cord impressions either in circular treatment of the
rims as on two vessels or stamped along the neck and lip
surfaces.
One large storage jar was decorated with what might be
called "diagonal scoring/' A tool with a rough edge, or
possibly the lower jaw and teeth of an animal was used to
produce this effect in a four or five-inch band around the neck
of the vessel by being drawn with a jerking movement across
the surface.
The rimsherd that has probably aroused the most comment
as to its significance is one bearing what are called "imitation
cord impressions." I'nits of this design resemble a fine line
about an inch in length crossed by many small lines drawn
perpendicular, such as could be made by the impression of a
ROBERT HALL AT
GIBSON ROCKSHELTER
ENTRANCE
GIBSON ROCKSHELTEF
INTERIOR
LOWER JAW BONES PR(
GIBSON ROCK SHELTI
BURIALS:
Upper, Br c I-3, adui
Lower, Br c I-4, inf<
ttt
; IMSHERDS PROM GIBSON
ROCK SHELTER:
op: diagonally scraped neck
ower left., (upper) interior
of rim showing imitation
cord impression, (lower)
exterior of similar
r imsherd.
ARTIFACTS PROM GIBSON
ROCK SHELTER:
Socketed antler spearhead
Beveled bone knife
Turtle plastron "plaque"
Polished stone gameball
Polished bone disk bead
Discovery of Shelter 94
fine sinew wrapped around a stick, or by a string of seed beads
pressed into the plastic clay until the string made an im-
pression. The unusual character of this design is in that it
has never been reported in any part of northeastern Wiscon-
sin and has only been associated with material from Black-
duck, Minnesota, and Clam River, Wisconsin manifestations.
The Clam River manifestation has been attributed to the San-
tee Dakota.
Conclusion
In concluding, the question of the cultural affiliation and
dating of the Gibson rock shelter arises. The Woodland char-
acter of the pottery automatically excludes the Winnebago,
who lived in the region, but whose culture is included with the
Mississippi rather than with the Woodland culture pattern.
This leaves the tribes of the Central Algonkian : the Menom-
inee, the Potawatomi, the Sauk, and Fox, as the only evident
groups to which the rock shelter can be attributed. The Cen-
tral Algonkian in Wisconsin were generally regarded as hav-
ing a Woodland culture, and this collectively would offer a
rather firm basis for a step in the connecting of the remains
to a particular historic tribe or group.
As for dating the remains it is necessary to refer to old ac-
counts of the region. When Nicolet landed in 1634 at Red
Hanks, a mile from the shelter, the vicinity was inhabited by
the Winnebago and had been occupied by them for many gen-
erations. In the latter part of the 1600 's accounts refer to
Potawatomis in the vicinity and make special mention of a
village at Point Sable, a mile toward the bay from the rock
shelter. This would set the last half of the seventeenth cen-
tury as the earliest arbitrary date for Potawatomi occupation
of tbe shelter. Extending this date reasonably into the his-
toric period, a span of about 150 years is reached, at some time
during which the shelter must have received the material
found.
95 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
ANCIENT WINNEBAGO USE OF BIRDS AS FOOD
A. P. Kannenberg-
During the progress of the excavation work on the site of
the prehistoric Winnebago Indian village situated on the east
shore of Lake Winneconne, in section 20, Town of Winne-
conne, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, during the years 1935,
1936, and 1937, a great mass of food refuse was uncovered in
the refuse pits, kitchen middens, fire places, and on sacrificial
altars.
Among this refuse was an abundance of bird, animal, fish
and turtle bones. Some were in perfect condition, some
cracked for the marrow, and some partly burned. Still others
showed that they had been worked on by cutting, polishing,
and engraving.
All bones and fragments of bones were saved, washed, and
catalogued. The whole bird bones were sent to the Smith-
sonian Institution for definite identification. This step was
made possible through the kindness of Dr. Alexander Whet-
more of that institution.
Among the materials examined were wing bones of the:
wild turkey (Meleagris Galloparo): bald eagle (Haliaeet us
Leucocephalus, A. W.) ; Canada goose (Branta Canadensis) ;
loon (Gavia Immer, A. W.) ; marsh hawk (Circus Cyaneus
Hudsonius); barred owl (Strix Varia, A. W.) : ruffed grous?
(Bonasa ITmbellus) ; ruddy duek (Krismatura Jsmaicansis) ;
and last but not least, the passenger pigeon (Ectopistes Mi-
gratorius).
This last species has been known to be extinct for a lonu 1
time. During the years 1860 to 1880 they were abundant in
Wisconsin; in fact, they were so prolific that when they would
roost in certain trees, their weight would break down the
branches. But for a reason yet unknown to science, they
disappeared suddenly.
Other identified bird bones included the leg bone of a duck
hawk (Kalco Peregrinus), the lower part of the bill from a
bittern (Botaurus I.enlitrinosus), and also three parts of the
sk;:ll of a mallard diiek ! Anas Platyrhnehos),
Black Hawk Study 95
It is really marvelous when one stops to remember the time
that has expired since those Indians had their village on that
site, at least several hundred years, to note how well these
bones have been preserved all through the years in which
they were covered with soil.
Some of the species mentioned may have been used for
plummage instead of for food.
The Oshkosh Public Museum is grateful to Mr. A. W. Shor-
gen of Madison, Wisconsin, for making possible the identity
of the specimens.
BLACK HAWK TRAIL STUDY ASKED
Wisconsin State Planning Board,
Capitol Office Building,
Madison, Wis.
Dear Secretary Torkelson:
At a recent meeting of the WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL
SOCIETY we went on record, after having noted the interesting
response to our article on the Black Hawk Retreat through Dane
County written by Albert Barton, to ask your board in connection
with your post-war studies to review your previous recommenda-
tions on scientific and historic sites and trail markings. With this
as a background we are asking that you make a study of the Black
Hawk retreat through Wisconsin.
This occurred in 1832 and involved the only battle ever fought
en Wisconsin soil by American soldiers. The counties involved in-
clude Walworth, Rock, Jefferson, Dodge, Dane, Sauk, Richland and
Vernon. The study might include the Wisconsin Dells as here he
was eventually captured after his defeat on the Bad Axe River.
We believe that it is possible not only to have the trail marked
but significant portions planned to be acquired. It should be pos-
sible for the two battlefields, that of the Wisconsin Heights in Dane
County across from Sauk City, and that of the Bad Axe River in
Vernon county, to be recommended for acquisition as parks either
in connection with county park programs or under the annual ap-
propriation of the state highway commission for roadside park
acquisition. In a way, both of these areas have been given ap-
proval in earlier reports involving parkways along the Wisconsin
River and Mississippi River.
Much has already been done in Illinois on the subject of Black
97 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
Hawk. Thus this is not a one-state project to be integrated with
the respective counties and their planning boards but also some-
thing to be integrated with Illinois and Iowa as an inter-state trail
system.
Respectfully submitted,
July 10, 1944 Walter Bubbert, Secretary
THE PIPE OF PEACE CEREMONY PASSES
Charles E. Brown
The picturesque traditional "Pipe of Peace" ceremony, a
feature of many past University of Wisconsin commence-
ments, has passed into history with numerous other discarded
traditions of this state educational institution. In this cere-
mony the leaders of the graduating class, garbed as Indian
chiefs and warriors, with appropriately worded speeches, turn-
ed over to their successors, the leaders of the junior class, the
care and preservation of the sacred traditions and customs of
the campus.
In the fifty years of its observance this interesting cere-
mony was held at different times at the main entrance of fie
library building, on the lower campus, on the slope of t!ie up-
per campus, and in recent years on the Lake Mendota terrace
of the Memorial Union. In some years this annual ceremony
was very elaborately staged within a large council circle out-
lined with tree branches and with a central camp fire. In
these years some of the University alumni were M!S<> some-
times present as guests. The calunr-t song was sung by t'>e
rniversity ('amp Fire (Jirls. A thousand alumni and citi/ens
came to view the ceremony.
The bowl of the "Pipe of Peace" is mad;- of wood and is
painted a dark red color to simulate the sacred red pipestoue
of the old Northwest Indians. It is T 1 /^ indies long and 4
inches high. Its stem is 28 inches long and is adorned with
the suspended many-colored ribbons of past University grad-
uating classes. These ribbons bear the numerals of the class-
es of 1894 to 1041. The class of 1942 was the first to fail to
perpetuate the annual ceremony.
Museum Exhibits 98
When not in use the peace pipe was displayed in a cast
near the entrance to the office of the Wisconsin Historical
Museum at Madison. Dr. Charles E. Brown, director of the
museum, was its custodian for twenty years. He has now
placed it in the care of the University Memorial Union where
it will be included among the treasures of a future museum to
preserve the history of student campus activities and tra-
ditions. Many Wisconsin alumni will regret the passing of
this old campus ceremony.
MUSEUM EXHIBITS
-
by Esther Hemingway (Mrs. Chas. E.)
(Paper read Friday morning, April 14, 1944 at the Joint Meeting of
the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in the Re-
ception Room, University Memorial Union, Madison, Wisconsin.)
How many people are aware of the importance of MUSEUM
EXHIBITS in the field of our modern educational system?
Early museums were only an expression of man's instinct
for hoarding mere curiosity shops and -their collections in-
cluded not only such things as two-headed calves and four-
legged chickens, but bones of the prophets or pieces of rope
with which notorious criminals had been hanged. Later
they became storehouses of natural objects, used only by spec-
tacled and bearded wiseacres, whom the average man regarded
as cranks or freaks of nature, themselves scarcely less peculiar
than the collections they poured over. In the next period we
see the public character of museums recognized. Govern-
ments, municipalities, civic-spirited citizens and philanthro-
pists supported museums and attempts were begun to make
exhibits that would be attractive to the people. Finally fol-
lowed the stage when the museum actually reached out to the
public in varios lines of service, becoming a dynamic force in
general education. The stage now developing promises to
find museum exhibits everywhere recognized as definite, nec-
essary parts of educational and research activities throughout
the world. This conclusion is demonstrated by the tremend-
99 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
ous increase in the number of museums in small towns and
cities, arid from the numerous inquiries to curators for supple-
mentary material in teaching and research ; also by questions
of highly technical or scientific nature, others not so technical
or scientific, and some almost personal. Hence, the obvious
function of a museum is education. It is gratifying to sec
that old museum methods have evolved, changed, and that pro-
gress is slowly being made in interpreting the past in order to
understand the present and future via the museum exhibit.
The exhibits must bring to light the processes which have
formed the world in which we dwell, the materials of which it
is composed, the treasures of the rocks, the ancient and the
modern life of earth, air, and sea. They must disclose the be-
ginning of our race in a period of antiquity too remote to con-
ceive of, and its incredibly slow and toilsome movement
through the ages.
Not all museums can be a Chicago Museum of Natural His-
tory which tells the story of the globe itself, of an American
Museum of Natural History, or a Milwaukee Public Museum,
but any exhibit should use all available facilities and endeavor
to provide wholesome entertainment, reliable information to
its local community, and to contribute to the growth and spread
of knowledge.
After seeing a museum exhibit in our State Historical Mu-
seum one Sunday afternoon recently, on Early Wisconsin Lead
and Zinc Mining, in which a real live Cornish miner related
tales of life in the mining community, a 1'niversity student
who has traveled extensively in the United States and who has
finished almost two years at the University said to me, "Why,
T never knew Wisconsin had a Lead and Zinc Mine of such
importance, and way back so far, and that it was the reason
for Cornish settlers coming to Wisconsin !" And he had lived
his entire 20 years here in Wisconsin and had attended high
schools in the shadow of the Capitol. Somewhere that young
American's education was neglected in one of its most vital
phases. Youngsters invariably turn to me after looking with
a\ve at the beautiful rocks in the University of Wisconsin
(Jeological Museum in Science Hall, sayintr. "Well, I wish that
Museum Exhibits 100
my folks would take me on trips so that I could pick up pretty
rocks and see sights." They think of Geology as something
foreign to them. Again, education has failed to teach that
child that the good old earth yields specimens and geological
history everywhere. Until our curriculum rights itself, the
museum exhibit must not only assist but must actually bridge
the gap.
When a small museum, or even a school museum is planned,
it is wise to have accurate documented information with all
contributions or collections so that it can serve the purpose for
which it is intended. It is an essential for good exhibits.
Any collections without complete documentation and history
are valueless. The historical facts can be correlated with the
present. In order to assist adequately, a catalog or authentic
record of all articles ought to be available and readily ac-
cessible for reference, and the list kept current as additions
are made from time to time. Such a complete record makes
the work easier in preparing special exhibits.
When the Mexican volcano, Paricutin, came into being, an
exhibit was prepared at the Geological Museum with pictures
of its eruption, pictures of other great eruptions, pictures of
prehistoric volcanic remains, actual volcanic bombs of various
sizes from older eruptions, and specimens of different kinds
of lava, accompanied by an article describing and explain-
ing volcanic action. This exhibit satisfied the questions of
a curious public. I cite this particular instance as an illus-
tration of what can be done at opportune times. These ex-
hibits not only help those actually seeking knowledge, or quell
the questions of the curious, but the casual sight-seer will al-
so learn to a degree.
It is also desirable to encourage children to bring in special
contributions for exhibits to stimulate their interest. Sev-
enth and eighth grade pupils of a rural school recently brought
to the Museum a prehistoric scene in the form of a diorama,
the background of which was done in crayon, if what they
imagined the earth looked like when the dinosaurs roamed
and ruled. The diminutive dinosaurs were made of clay and
placed in their native surroundings. I am reminded here of
101 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
the question a woman put to a curator when she saw what we
call a natural habitat group in which plant and animal life is
so realistically displayed in its native surroundings, and
which appeared so very real to her. She asked, "How are
the flowers and bushes in your habitat group kept so fresh?
Are they watered every night?"
The imperative need for the extension and broadening of
education to equip men, women, and children for true world
citizenship, as well as for making the most of their own in-
dividual lives, is being widely discussed and its importance is
apparent to almost anyone who thinks. That museums have
a place both in leadership and in execution of any such pro-
gram is likewise apparent to all who realize a museum's pro-
per function. The potentialities of museum exhibits seem un-
limited, for television will soon brinu; the museum to those
who cannot visit it, and oftener to those who do visit it oc-
casionally, and so it will become accessible to a world-wide (tub-
lie after the war. The future of museums and their educa-
tional possibilities is unpredictable.
The war has stimulated and aroused world-wide curiosity.
Soldiers and sailors will accelerate this interest when they re-
turn, having had exciting experiences of seeing strange and
exotic regions and races, so thus stimulating the interest of
those who remained at home. Naturally, thinking folks will
turn more and more to museums in their quest for knowledge
about races, regions, customs. Thus, museums can be made
an active part of the educational machinery. Through our
exhibits we must then strive to lead the way to the kind of
world understanding which we all rea ] ixe is needed an inter-
national understanding that will make for peace and justice
and fairness between individuals and between nations. Such
an understanding is attained through an understanding of
the forces of nature, a comprehension of the distribution of
natural resources, a knowledge of plants and animals, and
most important, an unprejudiced and undistorted view of the
character of other peoples and of the effects of environ-iieut
upon peoples. We need a complete change in psychological
approach with respect to the problems existing between
peoples.
I
Museum Exhibits 102
To obtain this proper psychological approach we must ac-
quire an understanding of the truth about nature, and fal-
lacies, misconceptions, and superstitions which all too often
prevent us from solving problems which must be eliminated.
If it can be scientifically demonstrated that it is not the color
of skin, or the type of hair or features, or a difference of re-
ligion, that creates problems between peoples, but factors for
which man is responsible and which he can control or change
if he will, then we shall at least come within sight of that bet-
ter world which we now realize we must achieve if we are not
finally to perish as victims of our own perversity. To accom-
plish this, more money becomes necessary to operate museums,
equipping them to carry on their share of research, expeditions,
and the dissemination of knowledge to which they are entitled
as pre-eminent scientific and educational institutions. The
kind of museum the price of one baittle ship could give a com-
munity is hardly conceivable.
That there are still folks who think of a Museum as a curio
shop is evidenced by this letter to a curator, which reads,
' ' Gents : I know you will think this is a crazy letter but when
I tell you the facts you will be glad I am writing to you for it
means money to you and me. My husband a good, fine man
had an awful sickness and when he came out of it he had no
sense of feeling. You can stick pins, needles or any sharp
object in him and he just laughs. He is a lot of help to me
around the grocery store and I hate to lose him, but this is my
idea. Put him in a sort of cage in one of your rooms and let
the visitors stick pins in him at 25 cents a pick. This will be,
I know, a big money-maker for you museum people and for
me. as I would, of course, expect a certain percent of each
pick. I know the public will flock to see this human pin-
cushion. Let me hear from you quick, as I know you will
never regret it. Yours truly, ..." And this is the P. S. :
"He has a fine appetite and will eat anything."
A well equipped modern museum ranks among the greatest
influences for culture, enlightenment, and spiritual uplift in
any community ; because here, as with great music, writing,
and painting, men of vision may pass on their vision to their
fellow men and to posterity.
103 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
ONE MAN'S REACTION TO THE MUSEUM
Reprint from Volume 1, No. 1 Milwaukee Museum Record
The other day, a young man, a seasoned sailor in our mer-
chant marine, came into the Milwaukee Museum office and
sought membership in FRIENDS OF THE MUSEUM. After
he had made his contribution and received his receipt, your
editor inquired as to the particular interest which had led him
to join our family. His story, although short, was so in-
teresting and complimentary to your Museum that it will bear
repeating here.
He was born and reared in Milwaukee, and as a school boy
was introduced to the exhibits in the Museum. lie was par-
ticularly interested in those displays which told stories of
strange plants, animals and peoples in distant lands. He vis-
ited these exhibits many times until the facts they presented
were permanently fixed in his memory.
Years later, having reached imm's estate, he joined the
('. S. Merchant Marine, and the world and its wonders began
to unfold before him, like a dream come true. He visit"d
strange lands, with strange plants and animals and equally
strange people. First at one place and then at another, and
still another, he saw in reality the strange things which he
remembered first having seen represented in the exhibits of
tbe Museum. Somewhat to his surprise, he realized that these
exhibits were accurate in their facts. They presented true
pictures of the strange things with which he was now rubbing
elbows.
As his travels introduced him to new corners of fie world,
he grew more and more conscious of the educational job mu-
seums are doing. He began to -realize that a public museum
freely supplies a lot of accurate information to all who w's'i
to make use of it. After all, a museum was not just a side
show: it was a place where knowledge could be had just by
using one's eyes; an education in a very pleasant, attractive
form and free to all who might be interestc.l. Kveryrn-.-
could not have the advantages of higher education, hut every-
Brown Continuation 104
one, from child to adult, could learn many interesting and im-
portant things at a museum, and without cost.
So, our Merchant Marine member decided, the Museum was
a very worth-while organization, and he desired to join with
those who were contributing to funds which could be used for
expanding the good work. Naturally we are grateful and
rather happy about the whole thing. It is always nice to have
the product of your labor appreciated.
CONTINUATION, CHARLES E. BROWN APPRECIATION
The name of Dr. Charles E. Brown is so definitely associated
with the archeology of Wisconsin, and his work so well ampli-
fied in the pages of the Wisconsin Archeologist, that he needs
no other monument or memorial. His activities are dominant
in the first number of that journal, October, 1901. In Novem-
ber of the same year he was appointed a member of a com-
mittee of three to plan and direct an archeological survey of
the state, which became his life's concern; the pages of the
journal and his activities as Director of the State Historical
Museum may be said to have made this state survey a con-
tinuous enterprise, a masterpiece as a continuing state pro-
gram. One of Dr. Brown's earliest contributions called at-
tention to the so-called "fluted ax" and its peculiar distribu-
tion. The unflagging zeal and wise leadership which he gave
to the archeologists of the state is culminating in a future
plan for a series of state parks to present the outstanding ex-
amples of antiquities for which the state is noted. These an-
tiquities are more than just ordinary relics of the past in that
they have a story to tell of great inspirational value. These
ancients had faith in the future, a belief that one should do
well in whatever task he choose and leave behind some real
evidence of his effort.
I am indeed glad to join in honoring Dr. Brown and wish-
ing him a long and happy future.
CLARK WISSLER,
Curator Emeritus of Anthropology
American Museum of Natural His-
tory, New York City
105 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
It is with great pleasure that I take this occasion to pay
tribute to the record Charles E. Brown has made as an ar-
chaeologist and historian. His contributions in these fields
have been most significant and of permanent value.
0. G. LIBBY,
Department of American History
University of North Dakota
In Northern Wisconsin lives a physician with a huge prac-
tice. So large is this practice that until a few years ago he
denied himself a holiday. Not long ago he was persuaded to
take a vacation and with his wife set out on an auto tour.
With him went a bag hi* wife knew nothing about. When-
ever they arrived in a town he secured rooms at an inn and,
leaving his wife, set out with his bag for the local hospital.
There he opened his bag, donned his operating gown and, hav-
ing obtained permission, watched the surgeons operate.
Over in Michigan is a lawyer whose evenings and spare
time are spent in discussing the cases he has won, with some-
times a reference to those he has lost. And with the lawyer
and the doctor, this is not a busman's holiday. They are dis-
cussing and doing the things which they consider the most
important in life, the work they were intended to do.
Down in southern Wisconsin for many years Charles E.
Brown has been doing the things he is extraordinarily
well fitted to do. And he, too, has devoted his spare time to
his profession, his life's work. Some years ago while "on
vacation" he came to Three Oaks and with the writer assisted
in forming the then Michigan-Indiana Museum Association.
.Meeting in the lecture room of the Chamberlain Memorial
Museum a part of the Warren Foundation, representatives
from the University of Michigan, some of the museums else-
where in the state, and a very few from Indiana, discussed the
problems of museum work and workers. On the advice of
Charles Brown an organi/ation was set up which has s ; nce
expanded, at first to Ohio, later to take in all the states of the
northern Mississippi Valley Region, now known as the Mid-
west Museum Association.
Brown Continuation 106
Brown's advice was that of an expert for not only is he the
foremost mueseologist of the Middle West but he possesses to
a remarkable degree the ability to choose those adapted to
and with natural talents for museum work. All over Amer-
ica are to be found young men and women in our Museums
who were started in this work by the Chief of Museum of the
Wisconsin Historical Society.
Of these and thousands of others who have come to know
him well, each and all hold him in the highest regard; and
their respect and affection are his in full measure.
This host of friends cannot conceive that in his retirement
Charles Brown will be at all different from the actively en-
gaged student and worker he always has been. They be-
lieve that he will still be a museum man, an anthropologist,
an archeologist, a mycologist, a historian, a collector of folk-
lore, and that he can be and will be consulted in the future
as in the past. Their one wish is that in the time given him
by his retirement he can and will be doing the things he en-
joys most.
GEORGE R. FOX,
Dowagiac, Michigan
NEW MEMBERS
E. A. Bright, Prairie du Chien; Edward E. Browne, Waupaca; L. R.
Cooke, Chicago; Vernon Golds worthy, Wisconsin Rapids; Taylor
Hall, Green Bay; Mrs. Dorothy Kundert, Monroe; Alvin Linden,
Bryant; James E. Lundsted, Oshkosh; Robert McClellan, Green
Bay; Richard W. Mills, Fond du Lac; Janet Ringeisen, 3853 N. 4th
Street, Milwaukee; H. A. Smythe, Madison; Gisella Steiner, 3540
N. Maryland, Milwaukee; John Weber, Dunkirk, N. Y.; Woodrow
Williams, Clintonville.
107 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
HAVE.... YOU.... READ....
Benedict and Weltfish, THE RACES OF MANKIND. Public Af-
fairs Pamphlet No. 85. 100.
This is a 31-page pamphlet telling simply, but effectively what
information science has to offer on the subject of race. Its main
thesis is that all peoples of the earth are a single family with a
common origin, and as such should learn to live together like
brothers. The authors point out the fallicies of such myths as
"racial superiority," "racial degeneration due to race mixture," and
"the biological basis of race prejudice." It is stated that race pre-
judice is barely a hundred years old, and is a product of fear, and
"conflict grows fat on fear." The plea is made for racial tolerance
and understanding not only in the United States, but in the world.
This pamphlet has had a short but stormy history. Its use by
the Army was banned because of Southern objection to the impli-
cations of facts on Northern Negro vs. Southern White intelligence
as taken from A. E. F. intelligence tests during World War I; the
happy result of which was to boost its sale tremendously.
Its clever illustrations help to make it an enjoyable as well as
useful guide to some of the racial problems of our times.
Robert Ritzenthaler
From our exchange, the Cranbrook Institute of Science, comes a
249-page SHRUBS OF MICHIGAN by Cecil Billington, $2.50.
While it is a part of the Cranbrook Press nature guide ser-
ies and mentions a few of the uses by Indians of their native
shrubs, it misses the boat and would have been more useful had
the author integrated the various ethnobotanic sources of informa-
tion in Michigan and Wisconsin. The reviewer is not qualified
to make a thorough analysis of the book, but he notes that its
nomenclature on blueberries and roses is not up to date. With
Hawthornes he falls the way of all flesh for he seems to cling to
Gray's Botany which is very obsolete. When a thing is compli-
cated, that's when people really need help. The maps and draw-
ings are nice. Michigan climate being a bit different, one can't
apply the climatic range to Wisconsin but has to remember that in
Michigan the range can be farther north than in Wisconsin for
borderline southern varieties. Let's hope the book sells well
enough to warrant re-editing and including a complete chatty and
factual background of the Indians' use of shrubs for food, clothing,
shelter, medical and other purposes. Maybe by that time one can
question the logic, too, of separating trees and shrubs, especially
cs regards Hawthornes.
A chapter in Historian William George Bruce's article entitled
"OLD MILWAUKEE," which appeared in the March issue of the
Have You Read 108
Wisconsin Magazine of History, was devoted to the early Me-
nomini and Potawatomi Indians inhabiting early Milwaukee.
It has come to our attention that the joint study on "THE DEN-
TAL PATHOLOGY OF THE PRE-HISTORIC INDIANS OF WIS-
CONSIN," in which Lt. Commdr. A. K. Fisher, Dr. H. W. Kuhm
and Dr. G. C. Adami collaborated, is now in the Library of Congress
in Washington, D. C. The paper was issued as a bulletin of the
Milwaukee Public Museum. Dr. Fisher is a vice-president and
Dr. Kuhm a past-president of our society.
"OUTLINE OF A BIOGRAPHY" of a Chippewa Indian who be-
came a Catholic Priest, by our honorary member, Rev. Philip Gor-
don, LL.D, "TI-BISH-KO-GI-JIK", Centuria, Wis., 500. 44 pages.
The August 10, 1944 Ozaukee Press at Port Washington carried
a full tabloid page map made by the editor some time ago of in-
teresting things in Ozaukee county as well as notations of all
known Indian camping and village sites.
Copies of the first edition of THE HODAG and other tales of
logging camps, by Lake Shore Kearney, $1.50, published in 1928,
are still available from Louis Maier.
Our honorary member T. M. N. LEWIS, formerly of Watertown
and at present associate professor of Anthropology at the Univer-
sity of Tennessee, has a syndicated article of length in the July 27,
1944 issue of the Wisconsin Dells Events on archeological findings
in the Tennessee Valley.
KOHLER OF KOHLER NEWS of November, 1943, is devoted en-
tirely on the late Marie C. Kohler, one of our lifetime members.
WORLD CROPS DERIVED FROM THE INDIANS by Edwin F.
Walker in Southwest Museum leaflet No. 17, 1943, Los Angeles.
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE TETON-DAKOTA by Scudder
Mekeel is featured in the July, 1943, North Dakota Historical Quar-
terly.
TRAILING ADAMS ANCESTORS by Henry C. S. Shetrone, who
contributed an article to the Charles E. Brown Appreciation Num-
ber, appears in the April, 1944, Ohio State Archeological and His-
torical Quarterly.
WAR BACKGROUND STUDIES of the Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D. C. recently added to their useful series studies of
Burma, French Indo-China, and the Island Peoples of the Western
Pacific.
MUA-HUNTERS OF THE WAIRU, by Roger Duff, Ethnologist,
Canterberry University College Museum, New Zealand, Christ
church, N. Z.
109 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 3
CHERT FLAKINGS
This is the first time we have had to announce that the previous
issue is now OUT OF PRINT. The entire Brown Appreciation
edition of 350 copies has been sold. It's the editor's fault that he
didn't have the vision to order an extra supply, for new members
will want a completed volume.
An editorial announcing Charles Brown's RETIREMENT appear-
ed in the Nov. 4, 1943 issue of The Lake Mills Leader. Alexius
Baas dedicated his June 30th column of The Capitol Times to
Charles Brown. H. J. Kent in the July 13, 1944 issue of the Wau-
shara Argus dedicated his poem "Wisconsiana" to Brown.
WHAT THEY SAY:
C. L. HARRINGTON, Conservation Commission Sup't. of Forests
and Parks: "Please accept my commendation on the fine job you
did in the June issue of the Wisconsin Archeologist. As editor
you have added new life, color, and variety to each issue."
EDWARD P. ALEXANDER, Director, State Historical Society:
"I have read the Brown Appreciation number with much interest.
It is a very fine issue and you are to be congratulated on carrying
it through so well. I think the whole idea is an excellent one. . ."
BOB HALL, Green Bay: 'The June issue was especially fine."
MRS. J. E. ROGERS, Oshkosh Public Librarian: "We cannot af-
ford to be without the Wisconsin Archeologist."
EDITOR C. C. BURFORD, Illinois Archaeologist: "Congratula-
tions and orchids to you on the lovely memorial issue of Dr.
Charles E. Brown, one of the grand young men in American ar-
chaeology and history."
The statement in the Brown Appreciation edition by WILLIAM
ELLERY LEONARD a noted world scholar, was one of the last
statements he wrote before he passed away. We well remember
him for his earlier assistance at meetings and for his poem about
the Indian in Vol. 9 No. 3 at the Madison State Field Assembly.
Vice-president LOUIS PIERRON who will entertain us at his
island home was featured in the July 23rd issue of The Milwaukee
Journal for his 66-year-old cycling hobby.
The secretary-editor succeeds Ralph Buckstaff to the chairman-
ship of the Art Committee of the WISCONSIN ACADEMY OF
SCIENCES, ARTS AND LETTERS. The coming 75th" anniver-
sary promises to be an important affair. Suggestions are wel-
comed.
Director Zida C. Ivey announces that the FT. ATKINSON MU-
Chert Flakings 110
SEUM is open Wednesday afternoon and evenings and all day
Saturday.
The kind of life lead by pre-historic man in the LA CROSSE
REGION was explained by Benno Meyer at a recent meeting of
the La Crosse County Historical Society. A collection of Indian
artifacts to show the skill of these ancient peoples was used by
Mr. Meyer in the course of his talk.
"Wisconsin Indians" was one of a series of radio presentations
broadcast over Stations WHA and WLBL. The series was pre-
pared by Dr. Edward P. Alexander, Director of the State Historical
Society of Wisconsin.
DR. L. S. BUTTLES, a past-president of our society, whose par-
ticular archeological "stamping ground" is Ozaukee county, has
prepared a series of enlarged maps of each of the county's town-
ship's, on which he is locating campsites, work sites and other data
pertinnent to a thorough archeological study of this specific region.
Whitefish Bay Police Chief George Hage descended recently one
evening upon the plumbing shop-Indian relic museum of DIREC-
TOR JOSEPH RINGEISEN, JR., with 25 members of Whitefish Bay
Boy Scouts troop No. 7?. and their scoutmaster, Elmer Boyd. This
was just after Joe had received the title of Honorary Curator of
Archeology by the Milwaukee Public Museum Board of Trustees.
He showed his recent additions such as the rare grooved adz pur-
chased from Frank Flath of Sheboygan marsh northwest of Glen-
buelah in Russell township in Sheboygan county. Another pur-
chase is a two-pound five-eighth ounce fluted ax from Irwin Fru-
end, south of St. Anna in Rhine township in Sheboygan county.
Nearly a dozen of our members attended the 9th annual gather-
ing at E. K. PETRIE'S LOG CABIN MUSEUM on Brown's Lake
east of Burlington last August 5th and 6th. Many of the Indian
relic collectors of the midwest were present at this unique show
and brought specimens and pictures. Much swapping and buying
took place.
More than 50 members and friends attended our ANNIVERSARY
DINNER held at the Jacobus Park clubhouse. Despite the cramp-
ed quarters a good time was had by all. We hope, now that the
idea is started, to graduate to larger quarters for the next annual
dinner.
The SECRETARY AND ROBERT RITZENTHALER on a recent
trip saw the interesting and rearranged collection of Lasley Point
material at the Oshkosh Museum where ARTHUR KANNENBERG
continues to add significant items. At New London our REV. F. S.
DAYTON has an amazing amount of material. He drove us at an
1 1 1 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGLST Vol. 25 No. 3
unannounced rate of speed to nearby Indian camping grounds on
the Wolf River. At Wittenberg we saw several interesting cases of
Indian garments on display at the NORWEGIAN LUTHERAN IN-
DIAN MISSION. We drove to Wausau where the secretary left
Bob who headed for several months of study among the Indians at
Stone Lake on the Lac Court Oreilles Reservation.
NANCY OESTREICH spent the cherry picking season in Door
County among various Indian families.
DAVE BLENCOE, our member from Alma Center and Jackson
County Surveyor, states he first became acquainted with Charles
Brown when corresponding decades ago about the Disco Rock
Shelter.
A meeting of the Lake Mills-Aztalan Historical Society featured
our famous "bird" man JOSEPH RINGEISEN as special guest.
He brought his rare collection of fluted axes for exhibition. Abor-
iginal copper implements collected by Walter Holsten, Lake Mills,
were also exhibited.
The radio and the press have been utilized by the WINNEBAGO
COUNTY ARCHEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY in
the teaching of that region's history and pre-history during the
past year. The Oshkosh Daily Northwestern published a series of
feature stories based on local historical and archeological material.
More and more Wisconsin NEWSPAPERS are becoming liberal-
minded in their view toward opening their columns to articles of
historical and archeological interest. In some communities editors
or staff members with a specific interest in these fields have per-
sonally been responsible for an increase in such published mater-
ial. In other communities it has been due to "go-getter" groups
and individuals who saw to it that their home town paper was
supplied with the data they wanted published. Editors are us-
ually receptive of well-prepared, interesting material. So, Badger
archeologists, it is up to YOU to see to it that your home town
paper gives a fair share of its space to the things you like to read.
POST WAR PLANNING in Iowa received a boost thru the re-
cent purchase of 126 acres of Mississippi River bluff lands north of
McGregor. The state proposes to turn over these lands to the
national parks service for a national park monument memorial to
the mound builders of the Mississippi River valley.
THE HONORABLE WALTER NASH, New Zealand Ambassador
to U. S. recently sent to the editor a lengthy list of articles on Now
Zealand archeology, etc.
Pi inted in the Shadow of Old Aztalan by The Leader, Lake Mills
COMMITTEES
Regular
STATE SURVEY Wm. K. Andrew, Kermit Freckman, Robert R.
Jones, Frank M. Neu, Harold Bullock, M. F. Hulbert, W. E.
Erdman, Dr. P. H. Nesbitt, Charles E. Brown, Erwin Burg,
George L. Pasco.
MOUND PRESERVATION Louis Pierron, Towne L. Miller, H. O.
Zander, C. A. Koubeck, Arthur W. Quan, Paul Scholz, Vetal
Winn, Dr. O. W. Ebert, Ray Owen.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS R. N. Buckstaff, N. J. Behnke, Frederic
Heath, Gerald C. Stowe, Zida C. Ivey, Rev. F. S. Dayton, Mark
H. Knight, N. W. Roeder, Jens Jacobson, Rev. Peter O. John-
son, Charles E. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE G. M. Thorne, Dr. H. W. Kuhm,
Dr. L. S. Buttles, Dr. A. L. Kastner, Mrs. Theodore Koerner,
Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich,
M. G. Schmidt, J. K. Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS C. L. Harrington, Walter
Holsten, Mrs. Robert E. Friend, Robert Hartman, H. G. Rueping.
PUBLICITY Mrs. Wm. K. Andrew, H. J. Kent, Mrs. Theo. Koer-
ner, Albert Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlon, Dorothy M. Brown.
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Charles G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell,
W. C. McKern.
Special
PUBLICATIONS Walter Bubbert, A. E. Koerner, G. M. Thorne,
W. C. McKern, Dr. H. W. Kuhm.
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic
Heath, Louis Pierron, Fred Scholz, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hoefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Mary Vandenburgh,
Richard W. Moore, Robert Hartman.
Permanent Standing
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A. Bar-
rett, Charles G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
CODIFYING THE TYPES OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES IN WIS-
CONSIN W. C. McKern, Kermit Freckman, Erwin Burg.
THE WISCONSIN
ARCHEOLOGIST
Page
DECORATIVE USES OF SHELL . . Dr. Herbert W. Kuhm 112
CULTURAL CHANGE AMONG
THE WINNEBAGO Nancy Oestreich 119
EARLY FOND DU LAC COUNTY
INDIAN MEMORIES Henry J. Rueping 126
LAWS RELATING TO APPROPRIATIONS TO THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library 129
MAN MOUND DEED 132
WILLIAM ELLERY LEONARD,
AN APPRECIATION Charles E. Brown 135
THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR LEGENDS
AND FOLKLORE Theodore Mueller 136
HAVE.... YOU.... READ Editor 138
CHERT FLAKINGS . Secretary 140
VOL. 25 NO. 4
(New Series)
DECEMBER, 1944
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Incorporated 1903
For the purpose of advancing the study and preservation of
Wisconsin Indian Antiquities.
Meets every third Monday of the month at the Milwaukee Public
Museum Conference Room. (Except during July and August.)
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
Arthur P. Kannenberg, Oshkosh Public Museum
VICE-PRESIDENTS
W. K. Andrew A. K. Fisher Louis Pierron
Kermit Freckman
Robert B. Hartman
Jos. Ringeisen, Jr.
DIRECTORS
Dr. S. A. Barrett
Charles E. Brown
(Madison)
Dr. L. S. Buttles
R. N. Buckstaff
(Oshkosh)
Erwin G. Burg
H. W. Cornell
Rev. F. S. Dayton
(New London)
W. E. Erdman
(Horicon)
John G. Gregory
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frederic Heath
M. F. Hulbert
(Reedsburg)
Zida C. Ivey
(Ft. Atkinson)
Paul Joers
R. R. Jones
(Wild Rose)
Dr. A. L. Kastner
J. J. Knudsen
(Atlanta, Ga.)
A. E. Koerner
Vetal Winn
Mrs. Theo. Koerner
Dr. H. W. Kuhm
Lauren F. Meyers
W. C. McKern
T. L. Miller
Arthur W. Quan
(Madison)
Robert Ritzenthaler
Charles G. Schoewe
Paul Scholz
G. K. Whaley
G. R. Zilisch
(Hustisford)
TREASURER: G. M. Thome, 1433 N. 37th Street, Milwaukee 8, Wis.
SECRETARY AND EDITOR: Walter Bubbert
Room 2, County Surveyor's Office, Court House, Milwaukee 3, Wis.
Residence: 1516 N. 37th Street, Milwaukee 8, Wis.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
The Wisconsin Archeologisi is distributed to members
as part of their dues.
Life Members, $25.00 Endowment Members, $500.03
Sustaining Members, $5.00 Annual Members, $2.09
Institutional Members, $1.50
All communications in regard to the Wisconsin Archeological
Society and contributions to The Wisconsin Archeologist should be
addressed to Walter Bubbert, Court House, Milwaukee 3, Wiscon-
sin. Send dues to G. M. Thorne, Treasurer, 1433 N. 37th Street,
Milwaukee 8, Wisconsin. Entered as Second Class Matter at the
P. O. at M -, Wis., under Act of Aug. 21, 1912.
THE WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST
Published Quarterly by The Wisconsin Archeological Society
VOL. 25 No. 4
MILWAUKEE, WIS., DECEMBER, 1944
New Series
DECORATIVE USES OF SHELL
Dr. Herbert W. Kuhm
Among the types of artifacts either carelessly overlooked
or disdainfully ignored by non-professional archeologists are
objects of shell, for they are generally not as showy in a col-
lection as objects of stone or copper. And yet, like those seem-
ingty insignificant bits of baked clay we call potsherds, these
shell specimens, whether whole or fragmentary, hold their own
record of a specific phase of aboriginal life.
In a previous paper, "Aboriginal Uses of Shell," which ap-
peared in Vol. 17, No. 1 of The Wisconsin Archeologist, I dealt
with the utilitarian uses of shell such as utensils, implements,
fishing appliances and pottery temper. This supplementary
study deals with shell as used for purposes of aboriginal orna-
mentation.
It was most natural that shell, from its workability and its
glistening eye appeal, would come to be a favorite decorative
medium for the Indians. Shells in their natural state or
merely notched or perforated for attachment were, on account
of their beauty of form and color, extensively used for per-
sonal embellishment. The ornaments of shell with which the
early Indians adorned themselves were exceedingly varied in
form, and ranged all the way from beads, pendants, gorgets
and necklaces, to bracelets, ear spools, nose studs and labrets,
or lip plugs. Shells were treated in almost every conceivable
way in the manufacture of Indian jewelry. When strung or
otherwise attached, these shell ornaments made a beautiful
and showy appearance.
In addition to shell pendants, discoidal or disc-shaped beads
of shell were outstanding culture manifestations dominant at
113 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
Aztalan, that most northerly known outpost of Middle Miss-
issippi culture. Other shell beads were spherical, cylindrical,
or barrelformed in shape. The shell bead is one of the most
commonly found relics of shell. Our present small know-
ledge concerning the method of manufacture of these beads
finds its basis in documentary evidence such as that of W. H.
Hoffmann, who asserts (Eth. Ann. 14) that "these beads were
evidently made from thick portions, or perhaps joints, of
fresh-water mussels ; they are the size of buckshot, with a per-
foration drilled from each side toward the middle. The per-
forations being somewhat funnel-shaped, and showing marked
striations, would indicate that the drilling had been made with
other than a metal instrument." On subsequent investigation
respecting the manufacture of articles requiring perforation,
he was informed that the Menomini used sharp-pointed pieces
of quartz and jasper, rotating these rude drills with the hands
and fingers.
Although fire-sticks were used for making fires and for
drilling bone and shell, the aperture drilled was probably not
of greater depth than could conveniently be accomplished by
rotating by hand the drill point of silicious material used.
When so slender and delicate an object as a cylindrical bead
was to be worked, it was held in one hand whilst the bristle
was worked with the other. The silt could be readily applied
as required by simply dipping the bristle into it, as it may
have been kept wet in a stone bowl or a shell vessel. The
condition of the transverse striations present in the perfor-
ations, as exposed in split beads, lends additional testimony to
the process of drilling by use of silicous matter.
When drilling in hard shell, in which no soft stratum ex-
isted, the drill holes would frequently not meet at the middle,
and in such beads a semi-cylindrical cut was made in the side
of the bead at the middle, so as to pass half-way through the
lateral diameter of the bead, exposing the drill holes and al-
lowing the ends of the cord to emerge at that point to ad mil
of tying. Such beads were evidently used in necklaces, where-
as the long, thin, curved beads were used for ear rin.irs and
hair ornaments.
Uses of Shell 114
Bristle drills were highly favored by the early Indian crafts-
men in the drilling of shell because substances having the tex-
ture of bristles are less liable to destruction by erosion from
the application of silt or fine sand than harder mineralogical
materials. The tough surface offers just sufficient softness
to grip the particles of sand and to direct more force on the
shell.
In his discussion of aboriginal drilling (Wis. Archeologist,
Vol. 8, No. 2), George A. West states that "instead of a solid
pointed drill, a hollow shaft was sometimes used as a perfor-
ator. A piece of elder or sumach, with the pith removed, was
suitable for this purpose and most easily obtained by the In-
dians of this state. With this form, known as the tubular
drill, the addition of dry sand, or sand and water, was nec-
essary to make it effective. The advantage of using this type
of drill is the saving in cutting away material, as> a core is left
which is easily removed. In working the shaft drill, the In-
dian held the object to be drilled between the feet and toes,
according to the size of the article to be perforated."
That tapering stone drills were used in drilling shell was
evidenced at Aztalan by several tubular or barrel-shaped beads
found with the so-called "Princess" burial. They were per-
forated longitudinally with a bore about a millimeter and a
half at its shortest point. One bead being split almost exact-
ly in half lengthwise gave an excellent view of the bore
through its middle. This was a tube formed by two cones,
their points meeting near the center of the head, each cone
tapering increasingly toward its end of the bead. This makes
quite a sharply conical bore for each half, which is what may
be expected in making such perforations from either end with
a tapering stone drill, undoubtedly the tool used for this work.
Furthermore, the walls of each of these conical bores shows the
striations produced by such a drill, mute evidence of the meth-
od of their production.
Since these disk-shaped beads are fairly simple to manu-
facture, small wonder that large numbers of them have been
found with Indian burials in Wisconsin. Well nigh 1,500
shell beads accompanied a burial in the McCarthy gravel pit
115 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol.25 No. 4
at Fox Lake. The most extensive use of shell beads for orna-
mentation of which we have tangible evidence was that of the
"Princess" burial at anicent Aztalan. About the legs and
body of the extended burial had been wound three belts rich-
ly decorated with clam shell beads. Each of the bead belts
was about four feet in length by six inches or more in width.
and so arranged, in the main, that larger beads were at one
end. From this end they graded down in size until, at the
opposite end of the belt, were the smallest beads. The beads
used were chiefly discoidal ones, though several were short
tubular beads, probably made from the columella and possibly
other parts of Gulf Coast conch shells. There was a number
of irregular forms, and there were several showing careful
shaping as squares or rectangles.
Each of the belts was similarly wrapped around the body,
one about the shoulders, one about the waist, and the third
twice about the lower part of the legs and ankles. These
three belts contained respectively 585, 846 and 547 beads, mak-
ing a total of 1,978. In the earth above the body 13 more
beads were found. Thus there were found with this burial
!.!)!)(> beads in all. This burial was so unique in Wisconsin
archeology that it was reconstructed as a special exhibit in
the Milwaukee Public Museum.
The flat beads, or what we commonly call discoidal beads,
are far from being actually discoidal in many instances.
While the predominant form is really discoidal, there are
many which are more or less rectangular or triangular in
form, and still others so irregular as to be almost nondescript.
This type of bead is characteristic for the culture known to
Mississippi Valley archeologists as the Monks Mound Aspect.
It wa? most natural that the pearls found in mussel shells
should, from their very beauty and iridescence, prompt the
Indians to use them as jewelry. When the Milwaukee Public
Museum expedition was excavating the Nicholls mound in
Trempealeau County, 36 pearly beads, all perforated to per-
mit stringing, were found. These pearl beads had been prac-
tically reduced to a chalky substance through decomposition;
the concentric structure and occasional bits of luster alone re-
Uses of Shell 116
mained to identify them as pearls. They were for the most
part of the button or slug type. Pendant pearl beads are
commonly found in Hopewell mounds in Ohio. These speci-
mens were the first reported as found in Wisconsin mounds.
They are now on exhibit in the archeologieal section of the
Milwaukee Public Museum. Technically they are considered
characteristic of the Trempealeau Focus, Hopewellian cultural
phase.
Beads of shell are of three classes according to their deri-
vation. First, they consist of small varieties of natural shells,
pierced for suspension, or only slightly altered to add to beau-
ty or convenience. Second, they are made of the shells of bi-
valves and the outer walls of the univalves. Third, of the
columellae of the large univalves cut to desired sizes, and
shaped and polished.
Beads are generally found in the graves of ancient peoples
in a loose or disconnected state, the strings on which they
were secured having long since decaped. We cannot, there-
fore, with certainty, restore the ancient necklaces and other
composite ornaments; but we can form some idea of their
character by a study of the objects of which they were made
and the positions held by these objects at the period of ex-
humation.
As a rule, the combinations in the pendant ornaments of
the ancient Americans seem to have been quite simple. A
great deal of art is shown in the stringing and mounting of
beads. The simplest form is that of single strands, twisted
strings of vegetable fiber, strips of buckskin, or bits of sinew
being placed side by side and fastened at intervals in such a
manner as to keep them approximately parallel.
The material for necklaces which necessitated the least
preparation was the dentallium shell found on the north Pa-
cific Coast. The dentallium shell has a longitudinal hole,
making it easy to string, and it is known to have been a fav-
orite article of ornamentation among the Northwest Coast In-
dians.
Breast necklaces consisted of shells or shell beads strung
117 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
on a thong or on a string of sinew or hemp, which passed
around the neck. They were of various lengths, and were
generally provided with a large pendant shell suspended from
the bight of the necklace in front. Sometimes several of
these necklaces were worn at the same time. Multiple neck-
laces consisted of a series of thin necklaces of increasing
length attached one below the other, to a heavier one.
Some of the most common pendants to necklaces were aba-
lone and other salt-water shells, procured in trade by many of
the inland Indians. Shell pendants at Aztalan included
conch columellae, olive shells, and even common mussel shells.
Pendants of shell, on occasion, took the form of effigies,
carved from unio shells. A fine specimen of such a shell ef-
figy pendant was found at Renard's Point in Door County.
This shell pendant, probably intended to represent an otter,
was made of a curved piece of marine shell, apparently from
one of the large conchs. Several other shell effigy pendants
have been recovered from Wisconsin camp sites and burin I
places. Mr. Towne Miller obtained a small fish-shaped pen-
dant with two perforations in mound excavations at Kingston,
Green Lake county. Three perforated, fish-shaped pendants
carved from unio shell were obtained by the Milwaukee Put)
lie Museum's explorations of refuse heaps and pits in the King-
ston region. A fish-shaped shell pendant was also recovered
from the Karow farm village site near Oshkosh. These fis 1 !
effigies of shell may have served a dual purpose, namely, that
of an article of adornment, as a pendant, and likewise as a tish
lure. I have described this latter use in detail in my account
of ''Wisconsin Indian Fshing," which appeared in Vol. 7, No.
2, of The Wisconsin Archeologist.
Gorgets of shell were pendants worn at the throat or on
the breast of the Indian. They were shells, often chosen for
their individual beauty, and were worn either plain or em-
bellish'ed with some incised design. they were p.-i-t'orated for
suspension by a cord.
T.racelets of shell were known to have been worn by the
Mcnomini. Arm bracelets consisted of strings of shells or
shell beads.
Uses of Shell 118
Ear ornaments of shell, worn by both sexes, consisted chief-
ly of pendants of fresh-water shells, natural in color or painted,
of pieces of abalone shell, or dentallium shells. Shell beads
were also used as ear ornaments. Pendants were attached to
the ear with strings. At Aztalan evidences were found of re-
finements of personal adornment such as elaborately made
ear spools of shell. The characteristic ear spool consisted of
a front or outer disk, and a rear or inner disk, connected by a
perforated stem. The outer disk usually had a diameter con-
siderably greater than that of the inner.
Smaller specimens, similarly fashioned, were employed as
adornment for the nose or lip. Nose pins frequently consist-
ed of a single large dentallium shell.
Shell ornaments were also used to adorn the hair of the In-
dians. Strings of shell or shell beads were tied to the hair or
braided into it.
With objects of shell occupjdng so major a part of the In-
dians' economy, the probing archeologist should give adequate
consideration to the seemingly unimportant bits of shell that
are his occasional find. In them, as in the lowly potsherd,
mav be more of interest than in some more showy specimens.
NEW MEMBERS
Nell Bendell, Solebury, Pa.; Edward W. Grant, Milwaukee; Es-
ter Hemingway, Crestwood, Madison; Freeman E. Hill, Milwaukee;
Shirly Marshall, Milwaukee; Mead Library, Sheboygan; Nashotah
House, Nashotah; Felix Saunders, LaJolla, Calif.; Theo. C. Treck-
er, Milwaukee; Lester Whiting, Mattoon, 111.
1 19 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
CULTURAL CHANGE AMONG THE
WISCONSIN WINNEBAGO
Nancy Oestreich
Introduction
Cultural change is one of the outstanding factors in the life
of the Winnebago today. It is important to mention at the
outset, however, that the following article does not purport to
trace the long history of cultural change among the Winneba-
go, nor does it have any claim as a complete analysis ; but, be-
cause of space limitations, it will serve merely as a passing
observation of cultural change in a particular Indian group.
The study is based primarily on observation of one small group
of Winnebago during a period of five weeks. None the less,
these data seem to comprise a fairly, though far from com-
pletely representative sample with which to work.
The Indians observed were family groups from almost all
of the Winnebago communities scattered throughout the cen-
tral part of the state. Our group, consisting of some 45 fam-
ilies, was predominately one of Wisconsin Winnebago, but al-
so included three Winnebago families from Nebraska and one
family each of the Chippewa, Menomini and Potawatomi
tribes. The presence of these minorities within the 'larger
group of Wisconsin Winnebago offered an interesting study
of inter-land and intra-tribal contrasts.
The Wisconsin Winnebago prefer to live more or lesvS in-
dependently in their native territory, Wisconsin, rather than
join their friends and relatives on the Winnebago reservation
located, by a whim of the government, in Nebraska. There
is, however, a constant exchange of visits between the two
groups.
In Wisconsin many of the Winnebago earn a living-
in the winter by trapping for the fur market, and in the SU-M-
mer by following various Wisconsin crops. The harvesting
begins in the spring witli the strawberry season, and ends in
the fall with the gathering of cranberries
Cultural Change 120
It was during the 1944 cherry season, a period extending
from the early part of July to the middle of August, that the
bulk of material was collected for this paper.
Attitudes Within the Changing Society
Opinions vary of course with Indians, according to the
amount of education they have had, their native intelligence,
or their personal interests. Furthermore, the contrast in at-
titudes between the older and the younger generations is a
most significant feature.
It would be impossible to put age limits on the terms "old-
er" and "younger," but an age between 45 and 50 seems to
be the dividing line. One might also have to add a third
classification : those individuals who grew up in the situation
of the younger group, but upon reaching greater maturity tend
toward the opinions of the older people.
The young people, through contact with the older gen-
eration, or by taking part in tourist-trade ceremonials, are apt
to know the old dances and songs, but seem to feel that these
things are pointless or merely a means of making a living.
They have been living in an unstable, changing society since
birth and follow along in the uncertain Indian-white pattern
of culture with no particular ambitions or interests in what it
may eventually produce in their own futures.
The young people from Nebraska contrasted strongly with
those of Wisconsin in this respect, being generally more pro-
gressive and better educated ; but it would be unreasonable to
infer that this is a typical difference between the Wisconsin
and Nebraska Winnebago since the representation of the Ne-
braska Indians in cur group was so small.
Many of the older people, on the other hand, can remem-
ber when the Winnebago retained enough of their original
culture to have a fairly complete and working social organiz-
ation. They blame all the misfortunes of the tribe on the
young people, who according to the old people, do just as they
please in matters of morals, ethics and religion, and they fur-
thermore havo no respect for the opinions of the older mom-
121 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
bers of the tribe. The older generation does not generally
try to resist the change, nor encourage it, but rather the ten-
dency is to mourn the past. A few realize that the unhappy
plight of the younger generation is but one of the many chang-
es in their society brought on by the breakdown of tribal or-
ganization due to contact with white religion, liquor, and gov-
ernment.
Originally the training of the young was in the hands of
the elders of the tribe and rules were put into effect by group
controls; whereas now these controls have gone, and it is only
in recent years and only among a few families that the idea
of parental control is stressed in the same manner as in white
society.
Consequently we have the picture of a younger generation
following their particular whims and an older generation see-
ing the wrongs of such a situation but feeling powerless to re-
lieve it.
Types of Cultural Change
Having become acquainted with the attitude* of me.nbers
of a changing society, let us consider cultural change itself.
For purposes of simplification we can break down our main
heading of cultural change into four types.
1. We are all familiar with the direct Indian-to-white cul-
tural change which is of so long standing, and so obvious that
it hardly requires further explanation other than mentioning
the Indians' use of white foods, houses, clothing, and the
myriad other aspects of white culture which have become a
part of the Indians' life.
2. One of the complexities of cultural change is that so;n i
customs taken over from the whites remain relatively static
in the Indian society, but continue to change at a faster rate
in the white group. A good example of this is in the realm of
material culture. The women's buckskin dresses were of
course long ago exchanged for broadcloth and other fabrics
fashioned along Indian styles, but these were later replaced by
calico dresses in the last century following the then current
Cultural Change 122
mode. The older women still prefer to wear this type of
dress, and very often the ensemble includes moccasins rather
than shoes on their feet and a blanket draped about their
shoulders. Most of the young women, however, dress very
much as white women of their own age.
3. Another type of cultural change is found in the Indians
modifying some aspect of white culture with elements of their
original culture to suit their own needs and tastes. This is
best illustrated by the trend that religion has followed among
a large proportion of the tribe. Some of the Winnebago who
have been enticed away from their old religion, and yet were
not satisfied with orthodox forms of Christianity, have adopt-
ed the Peyote or Mescal Religion which they prefer to call The
Native American Church. This did not originate among the
Winnebago, but came in from the southwestern tribes about
50 years ago, and has even undergone changes among the
Winnebago group. The Peyote religion is basically Christian,
stressing the literal acceptance of the Bible and the strict fol-
lowing of Christ's teachings. It, however, embodies the use
of a fairly harmless drug, peyote, which when taken in large
enough quantities produces visions, so familiar in Indian re-
ligions. The use of a small drum, eagle feathers, and ornate
rattles, as well as the burning of cedar leaves are included in
the night-long ceremonies. This religion might be considered
a transitional form between the so-called pagan religion and
Christianity, but though it embodies characteristics of both
religions, it appears to have reached a definite stabilized form
and will probably undergo few changes in the future.
4. We a^so have change completely within the society from
old Indian to new Indian traits. The old Indians tell of an
original Winnebago language, very ancient and now almost
completely forgotten, which has been replaced by a newer, but
still very Indian type of language. In recent years the lang-
uage has undergone other changes, but this is due to white
contact. It is strange that the Winnebago of Wisconsin who
have been forced to live in scattered groups and in close con-
tact \\ith whites, have maintained their language to a much
greater extent than some of the Wisconsin Chippewa or Me-
123 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
nomini who live on reservations and, it seems logical to as-
sume, would be likely to consider themselves more of a cul-
tural entity, and so be better equipped to preserve their lang-
uage. None the less, this does not seem to be the case accord-
ing to Chippewa and Menomini informants who claim that
many of their younger people do not speak the tribal language,
whereas a majority of even the smallest children among tin-
Wisconsin Winnebago are bi-lingual.
In considering our four types of social change, we might
almost add a fifth type, which arises from a reaction against
white contact and is a tendency to return to old patterns, as
in the case of the revival of the scalp and victory dances which
practically died out after the last World War. These dances
have come into prominence in the last year or so with the In-
dian boys again going on the "war-path."
Cultural Change and Cultural Stability
Although we are considering cultural change amonr the
Wisconsin Winnebago, the picture at this point seems rather
one-sided without some mention of resistance to cultural
change. Despite the constant and long-continued process of
change, there is still retained a surprising amount of old In-
dian culture. Christian missionaries and the Peyote Religion
have not managed to do away with the Thunderbirds, Water
Spirits, and the rest of the pagan hierarchy. The Medicine
Lodge continues as an important factor in the life of many
Wisconsin Winnebago. Unfortunately, the writer's data are
limited regarding the present number and ages of the adher-
ents to the pagan religion, or as they prefer to be called, the
conservative group.
It is interesting to note that practically all of the Winne-
bago, whether from Wisconsin or Nebraska, whether Christ-
ian, conservative, or pagan, still refer to their children by an-
cient religiously determined names. They are used in pref-
erence to the Christian names which all Indians now possess.
These Indian names for boys and girls are merely an indica-
tion (jf the order of age and sex of the children in any given
family, and are not to be confused with clan names which are
Cultural Change 124
individually bestowed upon members of the conservative
group.
The list of old Indian traits still found among the Wiscon-
sin Wirinebago could be extended at great length to include
items of diet, clothing, religion, amusements, healing, social
organization, and many other aspects of, the culture, but of
course cannot all be discussed in this article. There is, never-
theless, one final and important feature, and that is that the
Indian definitely considers himself a member of a distinct
race, and that differences in white and Indian outlook are in-
herent in the blood rather than due to 'societal processes.
Conclusion
From observation of current trends and from the reminis-
cences of informants, it seems safe to conclude that the pattern
of change outlined above will be followed in coming years
with an ever-increasing tendency of the Winnebago to take on
more and more of the aspects of white culture. Naturally
changes vary from community to community, but the overall
picture of the forms of cultural change seems to hold true.
There is one important point which may affect the Winne-
bago in unforseen ways, and that is the present war. As far
as influencing cultural change today, it is more of a nuisance
than an acting force. True the Indians are notably patriotic
in the purchase of war bonds, and Indian boys are in all of
the fighting forces; but for the most part, except where trag-
edy strikes individual families, the Indian thinks of the war as
apart from his affairs. Some older people still feel strongly
about the irony of Indians fighting for a country they them-
selves already have lost.
There is, of course, the inconvenience of tire and gasoline
rationing on a people who lead a semi-nomadic life, but in our
group, as far as the writer could ascertain, this did not con-
stitute a great problem.
Many Indians have begun working in defense factories since
the outbreak of the war, but even then they manage to stay in
fairly isolated groups, as witness the Badger Ordnance Phmt,
125 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
where the majority of Indian workers live in a separate camp,
and the camp itself is somewhat divided according to the dif-
ferent tribes located there.
However, the war will undoubtedly have its social affect
when the Indian soliders return from an existence of strict
discipline to the semi-nomadic life of the Winnebago group.
Even the veterans present at this summer's cherry camp show-
ed a sense of dissatisfaction and a feeling of estrangement
from the society.
In brief summary of the general picture of cultural change ;
we have wide variations in attitude toward the cultural sit-
uation between the older and younger generations in a group
representative of many Wisconsin Winnebago communities.
In this group, cultural changed in intensity from complete
cultural shift of Indian to white traits, to various stages of
cultural transition and modification. Finally, there remain
a considerable quantity of old Indian traits preserved intact.
From the observation of past and present cultural trends,
it appears safe to predict the continuance of now recognized
types of cultural change, but we must bear in mind possible
future developments brought about by the present war.
As a final note it is important to remark that this study is
far from complete, and is but a basis for future research.
The writer would like to thank her Winnebago friends, par-
ticularly Mr. John C. Decora of Wittenberg, Mr. Mitchell Red-
cloud of Merrillan, and Mr. Nat Long of Wausau, who made
this article possible.
EARLY FOND DU LAC COUNTY INDIAN MEMORIES
Henry J. Rueping
My grandmother, a pioneer settler in eastern Fond du Lac
County, often related incidents of her childhood to me, in
which the Indians were frequently leading characters. Later
the long story of the valiant and tragic resistance of the Red
Men, from the Pequots to our own Black Hawk, absorbed me.
Then, back in 1898, my father took me to Milwaukee for a
visit which included the old Milwaukee Exposition Building.
A large cabinet containing about five hundred Indian arrow-
heads stimulated into activity a latent and hitherto unsuspect-
ed interest in North American archeology. All the romance,
mystery, and adventure which only a small boy can under-
stand and appreciate, enveloped me at the sight of that in-
teresting display. Before we left the Exposition Building I
had changed into an archeologist.
Immediately after our return to Fond du Lac my compan-
ions arid I started field work. It was difficult and most dis-
couraging at first. There were no experienced collectors to
advise us. We started out with the assumption that all cul-
tivated areas were potential sources of ancient remains. As
a result we spent many week-ends trudging the fields without
a single arrowhead or broken bit of pottery to reward us.
Finally, in the autumn of that year, I experienced the thrill
of finding my first arrowhead, a small stemmed point with the
upper half missing. Several of my companions were equally
fortunate soon after. A 'small stream that meandered around
an end and one side of the field supplied the simple answer.
The aboriginal inhabitants lived near water on well drained
sites, particularly where the soil was sandy. That was where
their stone and copper artifacts were to be recovered.
We found that the fields adjoining Lake Winnebago m<l
the west branch of the Fond du Lac River were the richest
source =i of relics in our locality. Tiny creeks, marshy areas,
and the smaller lakes never failed to reveal mute evidences of
camp and village sites somewhere along their borders. Ar-
127 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
row heads were found on the sandy beaches of Lake Winnebago.
Cattle paths, ditches along highways, and even soil excavated
by burrowing animals have yielded specimens.
A number of years later, Charles E. Brown, director of the
State Historical Museum, and at that time Secretary of the
Wisconsin Archeological Society, sent me a number of well
selected copies of that organization's bulletins which covered
everything a novice or an advanced student might require in
his studies. I shall never forget Mr. Brown.
The greatest thrill I ever experienced came upon my find-
ing a round flat object of pink granite with both sides deeply
concave, and the entire workmanship of perfect machine-like
symmetry. I did not know what it was, but realized that I
had recovered an Indian relic of rare occurrence. A search
of my Wisconsin Archeologist bulletins revealed it to be a dis-
coidal stone, the use of which has never been determined.
We learned that potsherds were most common, arrowheads?
next, and following somewhat in order of their occurrence or
rarity, stone celts, grooved axes, pendants, gorgets, pipes, <lis
coidal stones, copper implements and ornaments, plummets,
boatstones, bar amulets, and banner stones. The last and
rarest is the beautiful and mysterious bird -tone, liy compari-
son the hinistone is to the archeologist as the 1804 dollar is to
the coin collector, or as the St. Louis provisional arc to t'ic
stamp collector.
Enlightenment came gradually. At first all arrowheads
were just flint. Later this material was found to be sub-
divided into over fifteen easily distinguished minerals. Ob-
jects of banded slate from Indiana, chalcedony from Aikav-
sas, obsidian from the Rocky Mountains or Mexico, and ma-
rine shells from the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean
were found about us, brought over vast distances as measured
by aboriginal means of transportation.
My collection at present numbers about twenty-two hundred
specimens. Among the prized items is a fluted granite axe,
a copper spud, and a string of two hundred ninety-one copper
heads believed to be the longest ever recovered in this state.
Indian Memories 128
The gem, however, is a so-called pop-eyed birdstone. Best of
all, the above specimens were all found in Fond du Lac County.
I have found that the archeologist is a discredited individ-
ual, regarded as a victim of mental aberration, not quite vio-
lent enough to be confined in an institution. Oddly enough,
hunters and fishermen are interested and understanding.
Perhaps, it is the love of the outdoors we have in common
which is symbolized by the flint arrowhead or the stone axe.
The man who has never walked miles along plowed furrows
and corn rows scanning every pebble, deceived repeatedly by
leaves of trees and ordinary stones resembling arrow points,
cannot appreciate the ecstasy that accompanies the sudden
discovery of a delicately chipped arrowhead and all that it
implies the story it could tell ; the years which have elapsed
since it was fashioned by some ancient artisan long passed in-
to oblivion.
Then there is the element of uncertainty. It is pleasant to
relate about the expedition when I found twenty-four arrow-
heads, and another trip that yielded twenty-two. I pass light-
ly over the unrecorded jaunts which produced not even a lowly
potsherd.
A. question invariably asked of me is, "What is all this junk
good for, anyhow?"
Sometimes I counter by retorting, "What fun do you get
out of spending a hot afternoon in a grandstand yelling
insults at ball players? Or what pleasure can you find in
putting on a pair of trick pants and trying to drive a little
ball toward a target until your blood pressure climbs danger-
ously ? ' '
More often I philosophize, "What a sorry world this would
be if we all concentrated on baseball, or golf, or archeology?"
129 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
APPROPRIATION RESTORED
As we go to press, President Kannenberg- informed the Edi-
tor that Senator Taylor Brown of the finance committee an-
nounced that our publication appropriation for state aid has
been restored to the state budget.
LAWS RELATING TO APPROPRIATIONS TO THE
WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Compiled by
Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library
November, 1S43
Chapter 337, Laws of 1905.
AN ACT to amend section 341 of the statutes of 1898, re-
lating to public printing, to provide for printing transactions
of the Wisconsin Archeological Society.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate
and assembly, do enact as follows :
Printing Transactions of Wisconsin Archeological Society
SECTION 1. Section 341 of the statutes of 1898 as amend-
ed by chapter 197, laws of 1901, as amended and corrected by
chapter 447, laws of 1901, is hereby amended by adding there-
to the following: There sha'l be printed by the state printer
bi-monthly in pamphlet form, fifteen hundred copies of the
transactions of the Wisconsin Aicheological Society, on good
quality book paper, uniform in style with the volume here-
tofore published by said society, including necessary illustra-
tions, not to exceed seventy-five pages for each copy.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force fro.n
and after its passage and publication.
Approved June 10, 1905.
Chapter 554, Laws of 1911.
AN ACT relating to the Wisconsin Archeological Society,
and making an appropriation therefor.
Appropriations 130
The people of the State of Wisconsin, represented in Senate
and Assembly, do enact as follows :
SECTION 2. There is appropriated to the Wisconsin Ar-
cheological Society the sum of fifteen hundred dollars for the
purpose of conducting archeological surveys and researches
within the state of Wisconsin, and for printing, the results in
specimens of such researches and investigations to be placed
in the care of state educational institutions.
SECTION 2. The sum of fifteen hundred dollars to carry
out the provisions of this act is appropriated out of any money
in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
SECTION 3. Chapter 337 of the laws of 1905 is hereby re-
pealed.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from
and after its passage and publication.
Approved July 5, 1911.
Chapter 772, Section 5, Laws of 1913.
ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
SECTION 5. Chapter 554 of the laws of 1911 is repealed.
Chapter 675, Section 172-47, Laws of 1913.
Section 172-47. 1. There is annually appropriated, begin-
ning July 1, 1913, two hundred twenty-five dollars, payable
from any moneys in the general fund not otherwise appropri-
ated, for the Wisconsin Archeological Society for printing and
for otherwise carrying on the work of said society.
2. The unexpended balance of the appropriation provided
by chapter 554 of the laws of 1911 for the Wisconsin Archeo-
logical Society is appropriated for such society and for the
same purposes and shall be available until used.
3. Moneys appropriated to the Wisconsin Archeological So-
ciety shall not be paid out of the state treasury until neces-
sary to pay actual claims duly audited by the secretary of
state.
Section 172-47, 1913 Wisconsin Statutes was re-numbered Sec-
t'.on 20.16, 1917 Wisconsin Statutes, by Chapter 14, s. 23, Laws
of 1917.
131 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
Chapter 31, Laws of 1917.
AN ACT to amend sub-section (3) of Section 20.16 of the
Statutes making an appropriation for the Wisconsin Archeo-
logical Society.
The people of the State of Wisconsin, represented in Senate
and Assembly, do enact as follows :
SECTION 1. Subjection (3) of Section 20.16 of the Stat-
utes is amended to read :
(20.16) (3) To the Wisconsin Archeological Society, an-
nually, beginning July 1, 1937, five hundred dollars, for print-
ing and to otherwise carry on the work of the said society ; hut
no part of this appropriation shall be paid out of the state
treasury until necessary to pay actual claims duly audited by
the secretary of state.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon July 1, 1917.
Approved March 23, 1917.
Chapter 424, Laws of 1917.
AN ACT relating to the Wisconsin Archeological Society
and making an appropriation.
The people of the State of Wisconsin, represented in Sen-
ate and Assembly, do enact as follows :
SECTION 1. There is appropriated from the general fund
to the Wisconsin Archeological Society, not to exceed one
hundred dollars for printing and to otherwise carry on the
work of said society.
SECTION 2. On July 1, 1917, any money expended under
the provisions of this chapter shall be charged to and deduct-
ed from the appropriation made by sub-section (3) of section
20.16 of the Statutes.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage and
publication.
Approved June 14, 1917.
This appropriation made in sub-section (3) of Section 20.16
of the Wisconsin Statutes was continued until repealed by
("lapter 140, Section 2, Laws of 1933, to take effect at the close
of business, on June 30, 1933.
WARRANTY DEED
This Indenture, Made this 12th day of October in the year of our
Lord one thousand nine hundred and seven between Alba Hoege
and Nellie Hoege, his wife, of Greenfield, Sauk county, Wisconsin,
parties of the first part, and The Wisconsin Archaelogical Society
and The Sauk County Historical Society, all of the State of Wis-
consin, parties of the second part:
WITNESSETH, That the said parties of the first part for and in
consideration of the sum of two hundred twenty-five ($225.00)
Dollars to them in hand paid, by the said parties of the second
part, the receipt whereof is hereby confessed and acknowledged,
have given, granted, bargained, sold, remised, released, aliened,
conveyed and confirmed, and by these presents do give, grant, bar-
gain, sell, remise, release, alien, convey and confirm unto the said
parties of the second part, and assigns forever, the following des-
cribed real estate in Sauk County, Wisconsin, to- wit:
A part of the northeast quarter (NE 1 /^) of the southwest quarter
(SWV4) of section No. twenty-eight (28) in township No. twelve
(12) north of range No. seven (7) east to-wit:
Beginning in the center of road at a point eleven rods fifteen
cne-half feet (11 rds. 15% ft.) west of the center of said section
No. twenty-eight thence running west along the center of said
road fifteen (15) rods, thence running south thirteen (13) rods,
thence east fifteen (15) rods, thence running north to place of be-
ginning.
Meaning and intending to convey a piece of land fifteen rods
east and west by thirteen rods north and south.
And it is understood that there is to be no less than three (3)
rods to the west and to the south of the man mound.
TOGETHER with all and singular, the hereditaments and appur-
tenances thereunto belonging, or in any wise appertaining, and all
the estate, right, title, interest, claim or demand whatsoever, of
the first parties of the said part, either in law or equity, either in
possession or expectancy of, in and to the above bargained prem-
ises and their hereditaments and appurtenances, to have and to
hold the said premises as above described, with the hereditaments
and appurtenances, unto the said parties of the second part, and
to their assigns forever.
AND THE SAID parties of the first part for their heirs, execu-
tors and administrators do covenant, grant, bargain and agree, to
?nd with the said parties of the second part, their assigns, that at
the time of the ensealing and delivery of these presents they are
133 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
well seized of the premises above described, as of a good, sure,
perfect, absolute and indefeasible estate of inheritance in the law,
in fee simple, and that the same are free and clear from all in-
cumberances whatever, and that the above bargained premises, in
the quiet and peaceful possession of the said parties of the second
part their assigns, against all and every person or persons, lawfully
claiming the whole or any part thereof they will forever warrant
and defend.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, That said parties of the first part have
hereunto set their hands and seals, the day and year first above
written.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered in Presence of
John A. Malone ) Alba J. Hoege (Seal)
E. F. Dethmar ) Nellie A. Hoege (Seal)
STATE OF WISCONSIN, )
ss.
County of Sauk. )
Be It Remembered, that on the I2th day of October A. D., 1907,
personally came before me the above named Alba Hoege and Nel-
lie Hoege, his wife, to me known to be the persons who executed
the said Deed, and acknowledged the same to be their free act and
deed, for the uses and purposes therein mention.
John A. Malone, Notary Public, Sauk county, Wis.
My Commission expires July 21, 191 1.
STATE OF WISCONSIN, )
ss.
County of Sauk, )
I, Harry Thornton, Register of Deeds of said county, do harcby
certify that the foregoing and annexed "Copy" Registration Deed
of Alba Hoege and wife to The Wisconsin Archeological Society
and The Sauk County Historical Society has been compared by
me with the original record and is a true copy thereof and of the
whole of such original record.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed
my official seal at Baraboo this 14th day of October, A. D., 1907.
(Seal) Harry Thornton,
Register of Deeds.
Plate 1
THE MAN MOUND
Greenfield Township. Sauk Count/
135 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
WILLIAM ELLERY LEONARD, AN APPRECIATION
by Charles E. Brown
When I came to Madison in the year 1908 to assume charge
of the Wisconsin Historical Museum and its educational work.
one of my very first local acquaintances was William Ellery
Leonard, then an instructor in the University of Wisconsin.
Becoming actively interested in Wisconsin Archeological
research, he at all times encouraged me in my state museum
work and archeological investigations. He was with me 011
many of my archeological expeditions and assisted in making-
surveys and explorations of local Indian mounds.
With other friends, as the late Rev. F. A. Gilmore, August
Roden, and Prof. Albert S. Flint, he spent many sunny days
in visiting and charting some of the numerous mound groups
located on the shores of our Madison lakes.
He and I were at Pheasant Branch on such a mission when
he had his first attack of the illness which brought on the
troublesome "phobias" of his later life. On that day he had
his revelation of his "Locomotive God."
Through many years of a close friendship Prof. Leonard's
interest in Wisconsin archeology and in the preservation and
marking of local prehistoric Indian monuments was always
active. This interest inspired him in the writing of his two
widely known plays, "Glory of the Morning" and "Red Bird."
At the state field assembly of the Wisconsin Archeological
Society, held at Madison, July 29, 1910, he read his memorable
poem, "The Indians of the Four Lakes."
The writer and the state society mourn the loss of a devot-
ed and greatly valued member and friend.
THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR
LEGENDS AND FOLKLORE
by Theodore Mueller
Folklore, as well as legends have been considered only for
their entertaining value, some for their moral lessons, others
for their technic in rendering a romantic story. They should
be beautiful and charming tales with a standard plot of "Boy
meets Girl," and the villian receiving his just punishment.
Colorful contrasts are important in each tale. The poor must
be wretched and mean, and the rich sublime and generous.
Fantastic costumes are important regardless of the period of
time the story happened.
Even if some of the old legends have had a trace of social
value, its significance was soon censored by the ruling caste
through periods of generations and centuries. Many of the
legends, and 'some of the folklore could hardly be recognized
in the original script. Some of the well known stories were
revolutionary in content; they have been rendered harmless
by shrewd minds.
Whatever we may think of legends and folklore their pur-
pose is to lead our minds away from the troublesome everyday
realities. They are essentially escapist literature to sooth and
to whisk away the mind into a dreamland of fantastic beauty
and romance.
In the old countries of Europe and Asia, legends as well as
folklore served as a mental drug for those who had to be kept
in servility and subjection. Each country, even an individual
section of a country, had its own selection of splendid, rich
legends. For a thousand years and more they have stimulat-
ed the children and' the uneducated masses. It was a source
from which they created their own dreamland. It stupified
them and made them forget the present drudgery and servi-
tude.
In tV United States, however, the land of free men, a coun-
try without inherited traditions and customs, the interest in
folklore and legends was less romantic, or of the fairyland
pattern. In fact the crude realism, spiced with a broad hu-
137 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
mor gave them a touch of the burlesque. They immortalized,
however, the heroic struggle of the pioneers of this strange
wilderness which they found in America a century ago. There
was no need for the early settlers to stupefy their minds with
fairy tales about kings, princesses, and supernatural characters.
They had no time for fantastic dreams. Yet in the course of
a century they created their own folklore and legends by im-
mortalizing and enlarging on the deeds of their own people.
Common people such as the great lumberjack Paul Hunyon,
Rip Van Winkle, and others.
Of course, we have a rich store of Indian legends, as well as.
sentimental Negro folklore of the slavery period, which, how-
ever, remain distinct lores, peculiar in our national concept,
and restricted in their scope. They never became popular.
perhaps because of racial distinction among the white pop-
ulation, until in later years when they became a lad.
The crude realism of the pioneers in their endless struggle
with the Indians developed a distorted literature no other
country in the world offers. Such are the "dime novels.
Notwithstanding the truly fine portrayals of the Indians and
characters of Fennimore Cooper, Payjeken, Gerstaecker, and
otheis, this type of cheap literature deliberately distorted the
minds of our youth. They falsified the true facts and created
a false valuation and concept of our relations with the Indians.
Moreso, they spread the breath of poison and intolerance, and
encouraged the ruthless brutalities of the bad men and kiLers.
The moral lessons, the sense of tolerance and beauty, and
of reasoning which our legends and our folklore offer, had no
purpose in the dime novel. These novels were distributed in
large quantities among our youth in the latter part of tlie last
century, and incidentally furnish the reason why our legends
and folklore were sadly neglected. Yes, even to this very
day the influence of the dime-novel teclmic Houris'ies in t' c
many pulp magazines.
However, in these trying times of war and d; 1 ;f Kidion it
sr. nu that the legends and to a great extent the folklore hav-
1'oimd a new outlet among the many enslaved and malt i eat -d
peoples cf Europe. They have become an important part in
Have You Read 138
the underground literature. Those Stenka Raisons, Till Uh-
lenspiegels, and Ruebezahls, found their renaissance in the
tragedy of the tortured minds who dared to oppose the op-
pressors, the Nazi and fascist dictators.
These legends have become a significant instrument in the
struggle against the oppressors in the same sense as the leg-
ends of the Garcias, those heroic characters of the Roman per-
iod who dared to liberate the slaves. They were immortaliz-
ed during the great French revolution by the Jacobins, and
later in the abortive revolutions in 1848. Today these leg-
ends of many centuries and countries have become the inspir-
ation, and a medium of propaganda against the unbelievable
ruthlessness of the dictators.
It is an encouraging sign, in these days of despair, that we
at last begin to realize the tremendous social significance of
our folklore and legends. Perhaps a time will come when
there will be a revaluation of the true purpose of our folklore
and of the legends which have been our most endearing and
cherished heritage.
HAVE.... YOU.... READ....?
More than 20 lines are consumed in the Sept. 1944 issue of the
WISCONSIN MAGAZINE OF HISTORY concerning our recent
issues. . . "The Wisconsin Archeologist appears in a new foremat
with the March 1944 number. Edited in a newsy fashion by Wal-
ter Bubbert, the Milwaukee County surveyor, it is filled with a doz-
en short articles. . . . The Charles E. Brown Appreciation Num-
ber. . . makes absolutely clear Mr. Brown's services in marshalling
amateur enthusiasm for archeology into a workable form and in
personally seeing to the listing of archeological items in the state.
'Charlie's' friendliness, enthusiasm, and story-telling ability are
stressed on nearly every page."
Sixty-six pages of the January 1944 Minnesota Archaeologist are
devoted to a glossary of the MINNESOTA OJIBWAY DIALECT
by Fred K. Blessing, who states he is not a professional linguist
and confines himself to the dialect south of Nett Lake.
The October 1944 issue of the Journal of the Illinois State Ar-
chaeological Society contains an interesting account of the CA-
HOKIA region and reprints several of the pictures of Charles E.
Brown from our earlier appreciation issue.
139 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
The MISSOURI ARCHAEOLOGIST makes its reappearance with
a December 1944 issue of 68 pages devoted in an interesting man-
ner to sites in northeastern Missouri.
The ever-interesting EL PALACIO monthly publication of the
Archaeological Society of New Mexico in its October issue con-
tains an interesting review of "Wool Characteristics in Relation to
Navajo Weaving," which is Technical Bulletin No. 790 of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture.
The CRANBROOK NEWS LETTER for November 1944 states
their Fred Dustin spent seven weeks on Isle Royale making an
archeological survey.
The Wisconsin Folklore Society through our Charles E. Brown
has issued a booklet on the myths, legends and stories of the hero-
god of the Indians of the Old Northwest, "WINABOZHO." This
attractive looking booklet is dedicated to our Dr. Eberhard J. W.
Notz of Milwaukee. "JONNY INKSLINGER" Deacon Seat Tales
of Paul Bunyon's Industrious Camp Clerk at his Sawdust River
Camp in Wisconsin, dedicated to Louis Maier, is another very in-
teresting and enjoyable publication of the Wisconsin Folklore So-
ciety that may be obtained at 30 cents each from Charles E. Brown,
1934 Monroe St., Madison.
A TREASURY OF AMERICAN FOLKLORE. Edited by B. A.
Botkin. Contains an entire section on Paul Bunyan by that well-
known Bunyan authority, our own Charles E. Brown. Over 900
pages of 500 stories and 100 folk songs. A meaty anthology in
earthly American language.
"A TRIBUTE TO MARIAN SCANLAN, 1898-1943," is an 18-page
biography prepared by Anna Porter and Bessie Murphy at the
suggestion of our honorary member Peter Lawrence Scanlan of
Wood, Wisconsin.
THE ROLE OF THE INDIAN IN NATIONAL EXPANSION by
John C. Ewers is a mimeograph pamphlet issued by the National
Parks Service, Chicago, 111., dealing with the background of Abor-
igional America.
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY of ARLOW BURDETTE STOUT, our
honorary member who assisted Skavlem in his Koshkonong report
and wrote the Archeology of Eastern Sauk County, now out of
print, appeared as ten pages in the 1939 Herbertia. . . Farr Nur-
series of Weiser Park, Pa., list 48 Stout Hybrid Daylillie from his
more than 70,000 new day lily seedlings produced since 1912.
"COMIC STRIP METHODS MAKE MUSEUM EXHIBITS MORE
VIVID" by Paul S. Martin, Curator of the Chicago Natural His-
Chert Flakings 140
tory Museum Department of Anthropology, appears in the May
1944 issue of their Bulletin.
"HOW TO ORGANIZE A HISTORICAL SOCIETY" by Bertha
L. Heilbron is a 20-page bulletin recently issued by the American
Association for State and Local History. HISTORICAL SOCIET-
IES OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, including many of
those known in Wisconsin, also was issued. 167 pages.
"THE LOON FEATHER," by lola Fuller is a story of the fur
hunters and traders at Fort Mackinac.
"THE COLLECTED POEMS OF LEW SARETT." Four entire
sections of his new book are devoted to Indian subjects, headed by
Flying Moccasins, Council Fires, Figures in Bronze and Red Gods.
CHERT FLAKINGS ....
At the regular JUNE MEETING, attended by over 50 persons,
President Kannenberg mentioned new developments on the battle
of Buttes des Mortes. At the business meeting, Schoewe made a
motion to have the Society endorse the new cover design and to
express its appreciation to the Publications Committee. Passed
The matter of the Lapham Medal Awards was discussed. Whaley
of Milwaukee and Quan of Madison were voted to the Advisory
Committee to replace those dropped.
At the first AUTUMN MEETING held SEPTEMBER 19th, attend-
ed by 55 persons, Robert Ritzenthaler spoke and showed movies of
his summer research among the Chippewa Indians on the Lac
Court Oreilles Reservation out of Stone Lake, on a Milwaukee
Public Museum-Columbia University expedition. Louis Pierron
and Vetal Winn discussed Indian sites on the Milwaukee River
near Pierrons' Island. At the business meeting 15 new members
were accepted. Robert Jones of Wild Rose was present and chang-
ed from annual to life membership. Dr. Notz renewal was accept-
ed. Motion was made an,d passed that the secretary at next meet-
ing report on the special publications committee recommendations.
The secretary reported that a balance of ten dollars above expenses
from the annual banquet was turned over to the financial secre-
tary. A sum of ten dollars as a revolving fund was set up for
traveling expenses for the secretary. Kannenberg discussed leg-
islative financing.
At the regular OCTOBER MEETING, 44 persons heard the mem-
bers discuss their summer findings. Robert Hall, Taylor Hall and
Warren Wittry of Green Bay discussed their work in Brown and
Marinette Counties. Upper Mississippi pottery from Green Bay,
141 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
granite tempered pottery from Marinette Co., conch shells and a
four-handled pottery vessel were displayed. At the Trustees'
meeting the special publications committee report was delayed.
The secretary reported on his trip to Waushara County. Robert
Jones toured the secretary to Mt. Morris and the Lutheran Retreat
headed by Rev. Pape who saved the "race track" mound from sub-
division damage. The Spirit Stone on Johns Lake was visited.
Aztalan progress was reported. The secretary reported little pro-
gress on ascertaining the cause of the destruction of certain mounds
on a highway relocation near Galesville. A letter from Charles
Brown suggested we endeavor to make a replica of certain Lake
Park Indian mounds in a ravine.
At the regular NOVEMBER MEETING over 40 persons heard
Theodore Mueller, curator of the Milwaukee County Historical Mu-
seum, give an interesting talk on the "Social and Economic Sig-
nificance of Folklore and Legends to the Present European Under-
ground Movement." At the business meeting the secretary re-
ported being informed by State Highway Commissioner Law,
concerning the state roadside park act in the four years it had
been a law, that $80,000 had been appropriated but only $3,000
spent. Members suggested we endeavor to have some of thesa
funds spent for the acquisition of mounds at the Wisconsin Dells,
Wauzeka and in Jefferson County. A motion was made and passed
authorizing the secretary to request the state planning board to
make a postwar study for a Black Hawk Memorial Parkway across
Wisconsin.
Our Dr. GEORGE H. REDDICK of Wabeno in Forest County re-
ports that "Mrs. Dan Kabat of Townsend in Oconto County recent-
ly found a flint arrow on her farm and that Walter Kilman her
neighbor on Bass Lake found a copper arrow on his farm. On the
George Kabat place on Bass Lake are earth elevations that look
like mounds. This is virgin country; only lumberjacks there pre-
viously. Dan LaFleur, east of Soperton in Forest County, advises
me that on his homestead on the Rat River he found a red stone
Indian pipe. On Lake Manomen east of Soperton is a circular area
that looks like a dancing ground. I am told of Indian graves at
the head of Andersen Lake and I have seen them at the head of
Grass Lake, both near Mountain. I am advised that two burials
were found on the trail between Trump Lake (Wabeno) and the
village of Blackwell. Aroowheads have been found imbedded in
burnt-over pine trees in the region of Battle Creek east of Lake-
wood. Many arrows have been taken out of the creek. The Sioux
and Chippcwas are supposed to have fought a battle there over
hunting rights. The trail from western Wisconsin to the Pcshtigo
River came thru the Joe Hall farm near Townsend. I have talked
with whites who traveled over it who stated it was wide enough
Chert Flakings 142
for two Indian ponies loaded to travel abreast. After crossing the
Peshtigo it turned north and went into Michigan. We are novices
and need someone to teach us how to recognize important Indian
evidence."
MRS. MATTIE C. DEVINE (formerly Mrs. E. H. Van Ostrand),
a former member of The Wisconsin Archeological Society, died at
a hospital at Madison, Wisconsin, after a brief illness, on Tuesday,
August 29, 1944. During the years 1914 to 1920 she was a mem-
ber of the Society's Mound Preservation Committee taking a very
active part in this valuable work. During some of these years she
was the chairman of the Landmarks and History Committee of the
Wisconsin Federation of Women's Clubs rendering additional val-
ued assistance to the Society. Her interest in its work continued
to the time of her illness. Mrs. Devine was born at Berlin, Wis-
consin, September 8, 1870, and came to Madison 35 years ago. She
was active in organizing the Service Star Legion and was a form-
er state president. At the convention of the Legion in Edgerton
in 1926 she was elected honorary president for a life term. She
was also a past president of the United States Daughters of 1812
and also served as a state regent of the Daughters of the American
Revolution. She was active in patriotic societies during World
War I.
ZIDA C. IVEY reports the death of one of their most valued Ft.
Atkinson museum trustees, George M. Hausz, who had donated
quite an archeological collection and was instrumental in suggest-
ing that Mrs. Worcester of Chicago make a financial gift to acquire
the $2,200 mortgage on the May property where remodeling will
take place for the new museum headquarters.
In connection with reforestation land purchases of the state con-
servation Commission in the Kettle Moraine, our lifetime member
COL. HOWARD GREENE sold a "40" in the Eagle vicinity.
THE WISCONSIN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ARTS AND LET-
TERS has expanded its activities by setting up the Junior Academy
of Science for which it assumes sponsorship and presupposes a co-
operative arrangement with Science Service, Inc., which admin-
isters Science Clubs of America.
The University of Wisconsin, mindful of the possibilities of be-
ing a factor in the discovery and development of scientific abilities
and interests among the youth of Wisconsin, has co-operated in the
appointment of Dr. John W. Thomson, Jr., formerly of State Teach-
ers College at Supeiror, as assistant professor of botany, who will
devote his time not only to the supervision and management of the
Junior Academy but also to the encouragement of scientific work
at the pre-college level. The council of the Academy, in turn, has
143 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
appointed Dr. Thomson chairman of its Committee on the Junior
Academy of Science. In his hands has been placed the guidance
of the Junior Academy. Steps have already been taken to recruit
the personnel of this committee from among the high school science
teachers. Our society members are urged to bring this matter to
the attention of high schools, instructors, students and board mem-
bers in a policy making position.
PREPARE PAPERS SUITABLE FOR THE APRIL MEETING
OF THE ACADEMY to be in Madison. This is the 75th Anniver-
sary and we should have a good showing. The Academy mem-
bership carries publication privileges.
The Jackson County board has turned over to the JACKSON
COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY an empty concrete structure
behind the court house at Black River Falls for a county historical
museum. Our Dave Blencoe, who has quite an accumulation of
material at Alma Center, hopes to move it to the new headquar-
ters. Dave is president of the county society, and Mitchell Red
Cloud is vice-president.
MITCHELL RED CLOUD has been dividing his time between
Black River Falls and the Wisconsin General Hospital at Madiscn
where he is undergoing a leg operation. Previously he had a night
watchman's task in one of the government buildings in Washing-
ton, D. C. We all hope Mitchell recovers rapidly and finds his old
home grounds around Black River Falls to his liking. Recently he
reported witnessing near Black River Falls scalp, victory, and
"sleepy eye" dances.
Had an interesting conversation with F. C. Zepp of the Ohio
State Archeological and Historical Society at the recent Midwest
Museums Conference in Milwaukee where he enthusiastically des-
cribed their SUPER-PARKWAY MEMORIAL which is planned to
follow across the state the 1794 campaign of Anthony Wayne. "We
desire to create a memorial with a combination of educational, re-
creational and esthetic values to the public. The program calls for
the erection of a parkway system over the military routes of the
three campaigns of Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne and includes
parks and historic shrines including all the recreational and cul-
tural facilities that would benefit the public. . . It might be well
to consider a similar plan following the Black Hawk War across
Wisconsin," Zepp stated.
The WHA Homemakers Program at Madison has available out-
line drawings of peasant designs and wearing apparel.
A large Great Northern CALENDAR for 1944 of the Blackfect
Indian Chief, Wades in the Water, a part of the series painted by
Winold Reiss, is available from your Great Northern ticket agent
Chert Flakings 144
or by sending six cents in postage. The Santa Fe railroad con-
tinues its series of Indian calendars.
The Leonard Appreciation originally appeared in the Capitol
Times of Madison on May 5, 1944.
ARTHUR QUAN has been busy getting into order the
Outlet Mound at the outlet of Lake Monona. Art had
quite a task with all the rubbish, depressions and unwelcome
weeds. This area, saved from destruction by the efforts of our
Madison members who saw to it that a sum was subscribed to pur-
chase the area, are to be congratulated for their accomplishments.
HERBERT W. CORNELL, our active member on the Advisory
Council, a leader in the Milwaukee Astronomical Society and Sec-
retary of the Milwaukee Civil Service Commission, has prepared
a map of the total eclipse of the sun for July 9, 1945, showing rail-
road points in Canada where one may view the eclipse. Mr. Cor-
nell plans to lead a scientific party in the Lake Winnepeg vicinity.
A letter from Sgt. HARRY HANCOCK of Shullsburg, now sta-
tioned at Ft. Custer, Mich., informs us he has just left the hospital
after a prolonged stay and is awaiting shipment. Would appreci-
ate letters.
The Superior Evening Telegram of Sept. 7, 1944 carries an In-
teresting story of our Pvt. MERRELL and his experiences in a
NEW GUINEA village. He says: "The old chief worried us at first
with his orders to get out but we soon gained the good will with
bully beef and cigarettes and soon gained the good will of the
whole village and roamed about buying bananas and shells and
taking pictures. New Guinea is really very attractive at times
rnd don't feel sorry for me. People make out like it's worse than
it really is."
Almost forgot to mention that ROBERT JONES of Wild Rose
was elected a Republican Committeeman; . . . that ALBERT O.
BARTON, our Progressive Dane County Register of Deeds, was re-
elected by a handy margin of votes; . . . County Surveyor DAVE
BLENCOE of Jackson county was re-elected without any opposi-
tion as a Republican in a Progressive stronghold; and your SEC-
RETARY-EDITOR was re-elected Milwaukee county surveyor des-
pite strong opposition, but with a 45 per cent increase in votes over
his first run which means it's OK to use the surveyor's office as the
editor-secretary sanctum for another term.
Our ROBERT RITZENTHALER, who spent the summer among
Chippewa en the Court Oreilles Reservation and now is studying
at Columbia University on a scholarship, tells in The Museum Rec-
145 WISCONSIN ARCHEOLOGIST Vol. 25 No. 4
ord of his curiosity at the unusual custom of an Indian mother cut-
ting four or five holes in her baby's first pair of moccasins. The fol-
lowing explanation was confirmed by several old Chippewa women:
"We cut those holes in our baby's moccasins because after the birth
of a child an evil 'Manido' (spirit) will come and ask him to go
along on a journey to the Otherworld. The child can then show
the 'Manido' his moccasins and say: 'I am not prepared to go on a
journey with you. See, I have holes in my moccasins.' "
COMMITTEES
Regular
STATE SURVEY Wm. K. Andrew, Kermit Freckman, Robert R.
Jones, Frank M. Neu, Harold Bullock, M. F. Hulbert, W. E.
Erdman, Dr. P. H. Nesbitt, Charles E. Brown, Erwin Burg,
George L. Pasco.
MOUND PRESERVATION Louis Pierron, Towne L. Miller, H. O.
Zander, C. A. Koubeck, Arthur W. Quan, Paul Scholz, Vetal
Winn, Dr. O. W. Ebert, Ray Owen.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS R. N. Buckstaff, N. J. Behnke, Frederic
Heath, Gerald C. Stowe, Zida C. Ivey, Rev. F. S. Dayton, Mark
H. Knight, N. W. Roeder, Jens Jacobson, Rev. Peter O. John-
son, Charles E. Brown.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE G. M. Thorne, Dr. H. W. Kuhm,
Dr. L. S. Buttles, Dr. A. L. Kastner, Mrs. Theodore Koerner,
Paul Scholz, P. W. Hoffman, C. F. Oakland, Nancy Oestreich,
M. G. Schmidt, J. K. Whaley, N. E. Carter.
STATE ARCHEOLOGICAL PARKS C. L. Harrington, Walter
Holsten, Mrs. Robert E. Friend, Robert Hartman, H. G. Rueping.
PUBLICITY Mrs. Wm. K. Andrew, H. J. Kent, Mrs. Theo. Koer-
ner, Albert Barton, Dr. P. L. Scanlon, Dorothy M. Brown.
FRAUDULENT ARTIFACTS Jos. Ringeisen, Jr., W. C. McKern,
Vetal Winn.
PROGRAM Dr. H. W. Kuhm, Charles G. Schoewe, H. W. Cornell,
W. C. McKern.
Special
PUBLICATIONS Walter Bubbert, A. E. Koerner, G. M. Thorne,
W. C. McKern, Dr. H. W. Kuhm. ;
MARKING MILWAUKEE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES Frederic-
Heath, Louis Pierron, Fred Scholz, J. G. Gregory, R. J. Kieck-
hoefer, L. R. Whitney, Robert Uihlein, Mary Vandenburgh,
Richard W. Moore, Robert Hartman.
Permanent Standing
LAPHAM RESEARCH MEDAL Dr. A. L. Kastner, Dr. S. A. Bar-
rett, Charles G. Schoewe, Milo C. Richter, H. W. Cornell.
CODIFYING THE TYPES OF ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES IN WIS-
CONSIN W. C. McKern, Kermit Freckman, Erwin Burg.
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